Littleton brothers save couple from burning car

LITTLETON, Mass. (WHDH) -- A family displayed courage under fire as they jumped into a burning SUV on the side of the Mass. Pike.

The family was on their way home from Logan Airport when they spotted the SUV burning on the Mass. Pike. The three brothers jumped into action.

“At this point I was holding her head and making sure she wasn’t bleeding,” said Brian Joyce.

Brian Joyce, 21, along with his older brother Stevie and younger brother Michael, recounted the frantic scene they came upon along the Mass. Pike in Newton in the middle of the night.

An SUV was on its side, engulfed in flames, and a man and a woman were trapped inside.

“I just remember not being able to get in the front door, and being in the back of the car, trying to pull them out,” said Steve Joyce.

“The chance that everyone was going to be okay was very scary to think about. And walking up, that six seconds is all you have to think about is what could be going on, what’s wrong,” said Brian Joyce.

The couple was pulled to safety and suffered only minor injuries.

“Scary just looking back at the whole events and what could have happened and how it could have been different,” said Steven Joyce, father.

“I was scared out of my mind but at the same time, glad it’s over and glad everybody turned out okay,” said Diane Joyce, mother.

The Joyce’s were returning from a family vacation in Alaska and were driving on the Mass. Pike around 2:30 a.m. when they saw the burning SUV.

With other motorists driving by, the Joyce brothers didn’t think twice about jumping into action.

“Without us, I feel like no one else had been helping so the couple, they could have died,” said Michael Joyce.

The driver of the burning SUV was cited by police for drunk driving -- his third offense.

State troopers commended the Joyce brothers for a job well done.