“Sometimes, the morning commute involves more than just griping at the traffic and the people who won’t let you merge. Earlier this month, one Marine Corps recruiter ended up kicking through a car windshield with his bare foot to rescue a man trapped in an overturned vehicle.

Staff Sgt. Joseph Maldonado, a recruiter out of Fullerton in Orange County, California, was driving to work, having just dropped his child off at daycare, on Dec. 6 when he saw a three-car pileup blocking traffic along the highway.

“My Marine instincts just kicked in,” said Maldonado in an interview with Task & Purpose.

Two other bystanders were helping an older woman, but one man remained stuck in a Mercedes.

“When I pulled over in front of the guy’s car I saw that it would be difficult to get him out since the vehicle was on it’s side. I knew the windshield couldn’t be broken while he was still dangling in the driver’s seat,” said Maldonado in a Marine Corps statement on Monday.”

Read more about this heroic act here.

During the ordeal, the staff sergeant realized that the trapped man was having a seizure. After cutting him free with a knife Mr. Maldonado saw there was no easy way to get out of the vehicle together. His solution was to kick at the windshield with sandals on! After the rescue, he even retrieved the victim’s belongings from the vehicle.

Now, who can be mad at someone that broke your windshield for that reason?! The team at IAS Auto Glass salutes Mr. Maldonado for his selfless actions. Hopefully, you’ll never be involved in such an accident but if you do and need expert windshield repair call us at 952-797-4374 to schedule service.