Ripon Police Officer Jacob Veltkamp is credited with pulling a passenger out of a burning Tesla following a crash Monday night.

The passenger is in critical condition while Veltkamp is recovering from second degree burns to his hand.

Seconds after Veltkamp pulled the passenger from the vehicle, it became completely engulfed in flames.

Due to the battery pack, it took Ripon Consolidated Fire Department longer than usual to extinguish the fire.

The crash followed a sequence of events that started when Ripon Police Officer Richard De La Sancha was alerted by a concerned citizen at the Love's truck stop regarding a white Tesla that was being driven erratically and had parked in multiple handicap stalls.

While De La Sancha was contacting the passenger, the driver exited the store, got in the car, and quickly sped away.

Officers lost sight of the vehicle and started to search the area before being notified by dispatch that it had just crashed at the intersection of Jack Tone Road and Santos Avenue near the Flying J truck stop.

Officers responded to the area and discovered that the vehicle had run the intersection before colliding with other cars.

The driver fled on foot prior to their arrival, leaving the passenger inside the burning vehicle.

Officers quickly took action.

Veltkamp extracted the passenger from the burning vehicle. Seconds after the passenger was removed, the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames.  

The driver of the vehicle was later located and arrested for felony hit and run.