COMMUTER RESCUES BABY FROM CAR FIRE Tuesday, February 10, 1998 Section: METRO Page: B1 By Yvonne Chiu Bee Staff Writer -- Michael Brown was just one of thousands of motorists heading to work on Highway 99 Monday morning. But when two cars on an adjacent stretch of roadway collided and burst into flames, he displayed rare courage that saved the life of an infant. As one man lay critically injured with his leg swallowed in flames, Brown said he dove into a family of three's burning Blazer and pulled free a 7-month-old girl trapped inside the wreckage. "The mother was crying, "My baby, my baby, my baby,' " said Brown, a 47-year-old computer assistant with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. "I just jumped right on in and I wasn't even thinking I could get hurt." California Highway Patrol investigators said a delivery truck being driven by Mauricio Castillo, 30, a resident of Cressey in Merced County, was traveling too fast for the flow of traffic in the southbound slow lane. When it came up on slower moving traffic ahead of him, Castillo slammed on the brakes, causing them to lock and the truck to skid in front of the path of a Blazer two lanes to the left. The Blazer, being driven by 26-year-old Teofilo Gutierrez-Mosquedo of Woodland, struck the driver's side of the truck, causing a side gas tank to burst into flames. Smoke and fiery car wreckage closed all southbound lanes of Highway 99 at Fruitridge Road for roughly an hour before Caltrans workers partially opened the highway at 10:30 a.m. They were able to completely clear the road half an hour later. The infant, Alicia Gutierrez, was unharmed. Her mother, 28-year-old Darlene Gutierrez, had been pulled out by her husband and other rescuers. She received severe lacerations to her face and head. Her husband, who works in a Woodland rice packaging company, complained of pain all over his body. Castillo, the driver of the delivery truck, was able to climb out the truck but received second- and third-degree burns to half his body. His 26-year-old brother, Teodoro Castillo, a passenger in the truck was unharmed. They were all rushed to the UC Davis Medical Center, where everyone except Teodoro Castillo is being treated. No one is facing criminal charges in connection with the accident. Brown, who lives near Elk Grove, said it had been a pretty smooth commute to his office in downtown Sacramento before he heard an explosion. "I heard a loud boom and fire and smoke. Something told me to stop," he said. Driving north on Highway 99, he pulled his car over and climbed over the center divider. Once on the other side, he saw a man whose leg was on fire and someone rushing to help him and a woman being pulled out of another car. Brown said he didn't think about himself. He heard that a baby was still inside a car and he acted. With fire climbing in the front seats, Brown said he had a hard time removing Alicia from her seat belt. She was "surprisingly quiet," but awake and conscious. When he finally managed to free her, he stuck her out of the car and gave her to one of the people helping. "She had a real round face, chubby cheeks, brown eyes just like my two girls," Brown said. Brown, whose own daughters are 16 and 12, played down his actions. "I have two kids myself and I would hope someone would do the same for my kids." CHP Officer Brent Carter, who was one of the first on the scene, described the situation as chaotic at first, leaving plenty of chances for a larger tragedy. The quick rescue efforts offered by strangers was the day's salvation. "He didn't have to stop but he did. Those are the kind of people we need more of," Carter said. Bee staff writer Peter Hecht contributed to this report. All content © The Sacramento Bee and may not be republished without permission.