CHP officer saves Christmas for family after car fire

A California Highway Patrol officer went above and beyond to help a family that lost all their Christmas presents in a car fire.

According to the CHP, Officer John Quintero was called to a vehicle fire Tuesday at around 8:30 a.m. on Interstate 10 eastbound, west of Hayfield Road, in Desert Center.

A family of six w as traveling in an SUV when it caught fire, burning all of their possessions, including many gifts for the holidays. Fortunately, no one was hurt during the incident.

The family was traveling from Los Angeles to Mexico for the holiday.

Officer Quintero took the family to Bank of America to get an ATM card and money. He then drove them to Enterprise to rent a vehicle, but they were unable to, due to the fact their licenses were burned in the SUV.

Officer Quintero even offered to rent the vehicle for them, but could not because he would not be the driver. Officer Quintero then picked up toys for the children that were donated to the CHiPs for Kids toy drive at the Indio CHP Office.

They continued to the DMV, where they obtained the documents required to rent a vehicle.

Lastly, they went back to Enterprise and were able to rent a vehicle at that time. Officer Quintero stayed with the family for over five hours to ensure they were taken care of and able to rent a vehicle to continue on their trip safely.

“It makes me feel really good, I have a wife and 6 kids and I was thinking I would want someone to go along with me or my wife if we were in the same position, because it’s hard when you have nothing to prove who you are,” said Officer Quintero.

Officer John Quintero has been with the CHP for more than 25 years.