COLORADO SPRINGS – A man who saved two people from a burning car was honored as a hero today by the Colorado State Patrol.

Earlier this year, truck driver Richard Krochta risked his own life to save the lives of two others who crashed their vehicle in Teller County.

It all happened in August of this year when Scott Smith and a friend were driving on Highway 24 west of Woodland Park. Smith’s van went off the road, hit a tree, and caught fire. Krochta drove by the wreck on his way to work and stepped in to help.

“Richard was standing there and he pulled us both from the flaming wreckage and made sure we survived,” said Scott Smith. ” We’re both forever indebted to him.

Krochta is a commercial truck driver for Savage Services in Colorado Springs.

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