OWENSBORO, Ky. — Two teen-agers escaped a burning car with the help of some motorists and neighbors who saw the crash and stopped to help.

        Angela Klump was passing by with her four children when she noticed the wreck and what appeared to be hands and feet clawing at the inside of the smoke-filled windshield. Bobbie Burden was on her way to work when she saw the one-vehicle crash and turned around to go back.

        The car hit a culvert and flipped, trapping driver Brandon Allen, 17, and his passenger, Holly Stinnett, 16, both of Owensboro.

        Ms. Klump said she and her 15-year-old daughter helped summon assistance from neighbors. Ms. Burden said she approached the crash and coached Brandon to kick through a small hole in the windshield.

        Brandon clawed his way through the front windshield, suffering cuts to his face and hands.

        “I just kept yelling, telling him to kick, kick harder, anything to get out of there,” Ms. Burden said.

        Holly was still trapped inside the car and unable to move.

        Ms. Burden, Ms. Klump and a nearby resident, Otis “Shorty” Hicks, pulled Holly through the rear window of the vehicle. Brandon was walking after the crash, but Holly was immobile.

        Mr. Hicks, Ms. Burden and Ms. Klump dragged her to a safe spot away from the smoke.

        Additional neighbors helped bring blankets to the teens while firefighters with the Thruston-Philpot Volunteer Fire Department responded and extinguished the flames and provided medical care to them.

        Volunteer firefighters and police said the people who rushed to help the teen-agers saved their lives by helping them get out of the car, which was rapidly burning.

        Brandon was treated at Owensboro Mercy Health System and released. Holly, who suffered broken bones, was in satisfactory condition at the hospital.

        Ms. Burden, who has three children, said she has replayed the event over and over since encountering the wreck about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

        “I thought it was going to blow up,” she said.

        “It was an experience that I hope I never have to live through again.”

        Ms. Klump said she and her children — ages 15, 13, 9 and 3 — were startled by the sight of the crash, but she hoped any person would have stopped to provide help to someone in that predicament.

        “I was pretty shook up afterwards,” Ms. Klump said.

        “Thank goodness there were several of us together.”

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