A police officer and a passerby are being hailed as heroes for helping a driver in a fiery wreck along Route 1 in South Brunswick Thursday morning.

News 12 spoke to the heroes exclusively hours after the incident.

The crash happened early Thursday morning along Route 1 near Ridge Road. Details on what led to the crash are unclear at this time. But police say the out-of-control Jeep struck the rear end of a van before it went up in flames.

Police say the driver of the Jeep, a 52-year-old man from Hamilton, got himself out of the vehicle after the crash, but a leg injury kept him from getting further away from the growing flames.

Passerby Haseeb Mehmood, who saw the crash on his way to visit family, stopped to help, followed by Officer Daniel Stoddard.

“It was very clear to me that he was not going to be able to move that leg, so we were going to have to move him,” Stoddard said.

"He was just screaming, and I was just trying to console him. I was telling him, ‘It's fine, you're good. I'm here. I'm here to help you out,’" said Mehmood.

Mehmood says he was the only one who stopped to help before the police arrived.

"There were so many vehicles that passed by and watched us, but nobody stepped out of their car. Nobody wanted to help,” he said.

Stoddard says he's glad someone jumped into action immediately because of how quickly flames were rising.

"It's heartwarming to think that people still would give up their comfort and safety to go help somebody else. That's not something that you see very often nowadays," Stoddard said.

The driver of the Jeep was taken to the hospital for a broken femur, an injury that could have been worse had it not been for a friendly stranger.

"I think that's the least I can do for humanity. I just saw him struggling and I couldn't leave the spot. I couldn't leave the location," said Mehmood. "I'm glad I was able to help."

Police say the driver of the van had minor injuries.