Dick Van Dyke Death Escape: Rescued from Flaming Car [PHOTOS & VIDEO]
Dick Van Dyke was saved from a nearly fatal car accident Monday when he was pulled out of his burning Jaguar by a passer-by.
Van Dyke's car caught fire near Parkway Calabasas in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. Jason Penington, Van Dyke's rescuer, was driving down route 101 when he noticed a car, pulled up at the side of the road, letting off fumes. When he got closer to the scene, he spotted Van Dyke struggling to escape the smoke-filled vehicle.
Penington was assisted by two off-duty nurses and together they managed to open the driver's door and rescue Van Dyke before the engine fire consumed the car shortly after. Van Dyke did not require medical attention and was picked up by his wife Arlene who took him home where he is recovering well, according to reports.
"They thought I had passed out so they were trying to yank me out of the car. I was trying to call the DMV. They thought I fainted," Van Dyke told TMZ.
On Monday evening Van Dyke tweeted a photo of the unrecognizable wreckage that was once his Jaguar with the caption: "Used Jag for sale REAL CHEAP!!"
Below is another picture of the disfigured and charred car, a still from his wife's Vine video filmed after the incident.
Monday's incident is not the first time that the 87-year-old actor encountered a near death situation. In 2010 he fell asleep on his surfboard and when he awoke he feared he would not be able to make it back to the shore. Porpoises came to the rescue and gradually pushed him back toward dry land.
"I woke up out of sight of land," the Mary Poppins star told Craig Ferguson on his late night chat show. "I started paddling with the swells and I started seeing fins swimming around me and I thought 'I'm dead!'"
Here's some footage from the scene of the incident:
