At 1:46 a.m., Georgia state troopers and Columbia County deputies were dispatched to an accident on Interstate 20 near mile marker 187, Trooper 1st Class Matthew MacDonald said.

They found a Ford F350 ablaze on the guardrail and Joseph Banks, of Dallas, Ga., about halfway out the driver’s side window. He was caught by his seat belt, and his legs were pinned between the seat and the door.

MacDonald said he and deputies Bobby Atma and Wes Ward used a crowbar to free Banks’ legs and cut his seatbelt. The fire department arrived as they were freeing Banks and provided water to tame the flames.

Banks was being treated at Medical College of Georgia Hospi­tal for second-degree burns on his legs and a broken pelvis, MacDonald said.