Rescue on Route 60: How Arizona First Responders Saved a Life on Their Morning Commute
Rescue on Route 60: How Arizona First Responders Saved a Life on Their Morning Commute
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U.S. Route 60 runs through the heart of Mesa, Arizona, a sunbaked suburb in the Greater Phoenix area. Every morning, more than 100,000 cars stream east to west on the six-lane highway during rush hour.
Small Detours
For Chandler police officer Brian Larison, taking Route 60 to work is out of his usual routine. Most days, he logs on from his garage, hops on his motorcycle, and takes Loop 202 to start his shift. But on February 18, 2025, he made a last-minute decision to enforce traffic in West Chandler instead. The easiest way there was the 60.
Miles away, Peoria Fire-Medical Captain Asa Paguia was running late to work. His typical morning ritual involves stopping for coffee and filling up on gas before heading to the station, but that day he went straight for the freeway.
Axon Presents: Safe Journeys | Episode 12 - Chandler, AZ
Axon Presents: Safe Journeys | Episode 12 - Chandler, AZ
A Sudden Stop
Officer Larison merged onto the 60 into heavy traffic. He was shaking his head at all the vehicles when, suddenly, the wall of cars in front of him stopped. The red glare of their brake lights flashed onto his face, and the cars began shifting side to side towards the highway’s edges.
I knew right then that it was an accident, and something was happening.
As nearby drivers started phoning 911, Larison hurriedly moved up to assess the scene. A grey Nissan had rolled over, and flames were starting to grow around it. He approached the vehicle and looked inside. At first, he didn't see anyone. Then he noticed hands moving against the glass.
“I realized I had to do something,” recalled Larison.
Breaking Through
Larison ran back to his motorcycle for his baton. Civilians had already gotten out of their cars and were punching and kicking at the window, to no avail.
“Get out of the way,” Larison yelled, and he started swinging his baton at the window as hard as he could.
A lot of people don’t realize that windows are made out of iron. They’re not easy to break, and you have to hit them in certain spots.
The window didn’t budge. Larison knew it would be difficult to shatter it in these conditions and without the right tools, but he continued trying.
A Second Responder
Driving to work, Captain Paguia saw Officer Larison and the bystanders trying to break the window of the burning vehicle. He pulled over.
From me exiting my car, I could feel the heat immediately without my turnout gear on, and so the bystanders and the police officer were obviously exposed to some intense heat.
Paguia’s turnout gear was still in his car from a late shift the night before. He geared up as quickly as he could.
“I didn’t have time to zip up my jacket,” Paguia shared. “I was just focused and determined on getting her out of that vehicle.”
An Unexpected Boom
Larison was still striking the window, and it finally shattered. He raked the glass away from the frame and the trapped woman inside began stretching her leg out of the opening.
Then, a large boom sounded. The car rocked back onto its four wheels, flinging the woman’s leg back inside. Black smoke was pouring out of the window.
At that moment, Larison turned and saw Paguia approaching in his turnout gear. He yelled with relief, “get her out, just get her out.”
Captain Paguia reached through the window to help the woman, and she grabbed onto his arm desperately. He pulled her out from the car and away from the flames.
We picked her up, started moving her, and I looked up at Paguia and thought: brother, I’m glad you’re here.
Holding On
As Larison held the woman, she clung tightly to him and cried. He remembers her hair feeling crunchy, and later learned that her hair, eyebrows, and lashes had been singed as well as her hands badly burned.
Her time was very limited and that fire was growing very fast. If that window wouldn't have gotten broken, she had seconds left, that was it.
That evening, Larison wondered what had happened to the woman he'd pulled from the wreck. He only knew her first name: Aymee.
Reunion and Recovery
After the accident, Aymee Ruiz reached out to Larison’s wife who she was able to find on social media.
“My wife goes, ‘Who is this person sending me a message on Facebook?'’ Larison said. “And she was like, ‘Oh, it's her!’”
The couple had dinner with Aymee and spoke to her mother over the phone. Aymee expressed how the whole experience had renewed her faith in God.
Paguia was left with a similar feeling. “Whatever you believe, I think there was something there that day that wanted Aymee there for more, for her life and her family and her kids,” he shared. “Me personally, I think God intervened that day and had us there at the right place, right time.”
Both Brian Larison and Asa Paguia are former marines who became first responders after their time in the military. Coming out of the marine corps, Paguia worked as a wildland firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service before joining Peoria Fire-Medical, where he has now served for 9 years. Larison joined the Glenwood Springs Police Department in Colorado before later becoming a motor officer with Chandler Police Department. Of all the drivers on Route 60 that morning, it was these two veterans who stopped, with the training needed to save Aymee's life.
Aymee Ruiz has recovered since the incident and was later reunited with both Officer Larison and Captain Paguia. Following their roadside rescue, Paguia was named the 100 Club of Arizona 2025 Firefighter of the Year, and Larison was recognized by Chandler’s Mayor and City Council with the Community Hero Award.
Safe Journeys is a series that unveils the humanity behind public safety, as men and women share their journeys of protection, empathy, resilience, and who they are beyond the badge. View all Safe Journeys stories here >