Aurora mayor Richard Irvin announced recently that Jose Martinez, a hometown hero who rescued a man from a burning car, will serve as grand marshal of Aurora’s 2018 Fourth of July Independence parade.
“Jose is truly an inspiration to everyone in our community,” said Irvin. “He put his own life on the line to save the life of a total stranger. That is absolutely remarkable.”
After a car accident occurred outside of Martinez’s East Side Aurora home in the early morning hours on Easter Sunday, Martinez opened his door to see the vehicle being consumed in flames. Without hesitation, Martinez ran to the car and pulled the driver to safety just as first responders arrived and captured the life-saving heroics on dash cam.
—City of Aurora
