California woman meets man who pulled her from fiery car crash in 1997
A California woman woke up in the hospital and assumed first responders had saved her life. She carried on thinking that way until last month when she received a letter in the mail.
(KTLA) -- In October 1997, Rebecca Anderson was riding along with her mother in a white van when tragedy struck in California.
The pair entered an intersection in North Hills and were broadsided by a driver who was fleeing the police.
The van carrying Anderson and her mother, Linda Wageman, burst into flames as a result of the crash. Anderson survived, but her mom died that night.
Anderson woke up in the hospital and assumed first responders had saved her life. She carried on thinking that way until last month when she received a letter in the mail from a man named Daniel Mena.
Mena, who witnessed the accident nearly 27 years ago, explained that he was the one who pulled Anderson from the burning vehicle.
Anderson and Mena kept in contact and decided to meet face-to-face on Wednesday, the first time he had seen her since that fateful night.
"I went over there and saw [Anderson], dragged her into the liquor store," Mena said to Nexstar's KTLA as he fought back tears. "I tried getting the mother out, but it got too hot. I just couldn't do it."
Mena said he has often wondered about what happened to Anderson since that night. He found her address and decided to reach out by mail. Mena explained who he was, and the pair decided to meet.
"I constantly thought what happened to her afterwards?" Mena said. "Just wondering if she lived a fruitful life?"
Anderson was nervous at the prospect of meeting the man who pulled her from the burning vehicle.
"He saved my life that day," Anderson said. "I was unconscious so I don't remember too much of what happened."
Anderson and Mena were both visibly emotional at the reunion. The pair kept in contact through phone calls and text messages leading up to the meeting on Monday. Anderson says the pair felt compelled to see each other face-to-face.
"Just to meet each other," she said. "And maybe find some sort of closure."
Anderson and Mena said they plan to meet again in the future.