A carjacking suspect fleeing police with a stolen 1-year-old child slammed into Amber Williams' car at full speed on a Sunday night in Jacksonville.
She woke up unconscious inside a burning vehicle with her hair already on fire.
And a Jacksonville Deputy pulled one woman from a burning car just seconds before it became a fireball – and her words about the suspect will leave you speechless.
Deputy's Bodycam Captured The Race Against Time
Deputy Almin Residovic sprinted toward the burning wreck after the February 8 crash, yelling for a "puncher" to break the window.
When he ripped the door open, Williams was inside with flames consuming her hair.
The bodycam footage shows him grabbing her and dragging her away from the vehicle while repeatedly asking if anyone else was trapped inside.
A 14-year-old had already escaped before deputies arrived.
The 1-year-old child – still strapped in the stolen vehicle – was pulled out unharmed by another deputy.
Seconds after Residovic got Williams clear, the entire car erupted into a fireball.
https://twitter.com/unlimited_ls/status/2022337715484680604?s=20
The Suspect Created A Nightmare Scenario
Richard Younger, 34, had violently carjacked a woman near 103rd Street, ripping her from her vehicle with her baby still in the back seat.
Deputies spotted the stolen car just streets away and tried to stop him.
Instead of pulling over, Younger floored it – leading to a brief chase that ended when he crashed head-on into Williams' car on Old Middleburg Road.
The impact knocked Williams unconscious immediately.
She and her sister had been driving home after a quiet conversation about dreams of buying a new house.
The crash left her with severe burns, a concussion, and facial injuries so extensive she says she can't recognize herself in the mirror anymore.
Her eardrum ruptured weeks later.
What Happens When Your Life Gets Stolen In Seconds
Williams, a mother of two including a two-week-old baby, spent time in the Gainesville burn unit before returning home to Jacksonville.
Simple tasks like standing and walking became impossible hurdles.
"I don't even like looking at myself. I can't recognize myself anymore. It's painful. I can't go to sleep at night. I'm just up with severe headaches. It has been hell, honestly."
Her former supervisor Joe Haynick saw the bodycam footage from Michigan – they'd worked together virtually for four years.
He immediately started a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses and transportation.
Williams' 7-year-old and newborn keep her fighting through the pain and trauma.
The Words That Prove Something About Human Spirit
Younger now faces multiple felonies – carjacking, leaving the scene of a crash without rendering aid, aggravated fleeing from law enforcement, and false imprisonment of a child under 13.
What Williams said about him reveals something most people wouldn't feel after being disfigured by a criminal's reckless choices.
"I want the young man to know that I forgive him. We're all human. I'm not sure what made him drive the car drastically like that that day, but I really do forgive him because everything happens for a reason."
She even found meaning in becoming the innocent victim who stopped his rampage.
"I honestly think maybe it was meant to happen. I'm not sure the toddler that young man had was even his child so maybe it was meant to happen so that way they could rescue the child."
Split-Second Decisions That Separate Life From Death
Officer Residovic's actions fit a pattern law enforcement experts recognize in high-stakes rescues.
Research on police decision-making under extreme stress shows officers operate in what psychologists call "System 1" mode – fast, intuitive responses based on training and muscle memory rather than deliberate analysis.
When a suspect can fire a weapon in one-tenth of a second and the fastest human reaction time is just over two-tenths of a second, there's no time for the kind of slow, analytical thinking most people imagine happens in emergencies.
Officers in these situations choose the first option they're most confident in – the one training has made automatic.
Residovic didn't pause to weigh multiple options when he saw that burning car.
His training kicked in: break the window if needed, grab the victim, get clear of the vehicle.
The bodycam shows he executed that sequence in seconds – because hesitation would have meant Williams burned to death while he was still thinking about the best approach.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office praised his courage and the coordinated response of all officers involved.
Williams told the department she is incredibly grateful to be alive and for the quick actions Residovic took.
Carjackings exploded during the pandemic and they're still way above where they were before the lockdowns, though FBI data shows they finally started dropping in 2024.
Most carjackings don't end with anyone getting hurt – about 70 percent involve no injuries – but when they go wrong, they go catastrophically wrong.
Williams can't stand without help. Can't walk. Can't look in a mirror. Can't sleep through the night because of the headaches. Has a two-week-old baby she can barely care for and no car to get to medical appointments.
And despite all that – despite Younger stealing her face, her health, her ability to be a mother to her kids – she forgave him.
Sources:
- Alexandra Koch, "Dramatic bodycam video captures deputy pulling woman from fiery car wreck," Fox News, February 13, 2026.
- "Jacksonville mother recalls being pulled from burning car by JSO officer during dramatic rescue," News4JAX, February 2026.
- Grace Bellinghausen, "Deputy saves baby, unconscious driver, after Florida carjacking ends in fiery crash," CBS12, February 14, 2026.
- Benjamin Lynch, "Dramatic moment hero cop rescues woman from blazing car," Daily Mirror, February 14, 2026.
- "Early data suggests carjackings and car thefts fell in 2024," NPR, December 23, 2024.
- "The science of split-second decisions: What officers face in life-or-death moments," Police1, February 25, 2025.
- "FBI Releases Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019—2023," Federal Bureau of Investigation, August 12, 2024.
