TRENTON, New York — An Oneida County sheriff’s deputy pulled a seriously injured driver away from a burning pickup truck after a single-vehicle crash Saturday evening, placing him where arriving medical crews could begin lifesaving treatment, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched at approximately 7:48 p.m. Aug. 1 to a reported injury crash on State Route 28 in the town of Trenton.
First deputy finds truck engulfed in flames
Sheriff Robert Maciol’s release identifies the driver as Zachary M. Boutin, 34, of New Hartford. According to the agency’s preliminary account, Boutin was driving a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado west on Route 28 when the truck crossed the eastbound lane, left the road, continued through a field and struck a tree.
The sheriff’s office said the pickup caught fire shortly after the crash and became engulfed in flames. The first Oneida County deputy to arrive located both the vehicle and Boutin, then pulled the injured man away from the burning truck to prevent additional injury from the fire.
The agency did not name the deputy in its public release. ThinBlueNews is not adding an identity or details that the sheriff’s office did not publish.
Deputy moves driver to arriving EMS crews
After moving Boutin to safety, the deputy brought him to a place where emergency medical personnel arriving at the scene could administer lifesaving care, the sheriff’s office said.
Boutin was flown to SUNY Upstate Medical University for treatment of serious injuries. The public release did not provide a later medical update, and ThinBlueNews is not speculating about his condition beyond the agency’s statement.
The Oneida Dispatch independently reported the rescue Monday morning, also citing the sheriff’s account. Its report describes the first deputy’s intervention as preventing further injury from the flames before EMS arrived.
Multiple agencies support the response
The sheriff’s office credited the New York State Police, Holland Patent Fire Department, Barneveld Fire Department, Kuyahoora Valley Ambulance Corps and LifeNet flight personnel with assisting at the scene.
The agency’s account is a reminder that serious crash response is a chain: the first deputy locating a vehicle off the road, moving an injured person away from immediate fire danger, EMS beginning treatment, firefighters securing the scene and air-medical personnel transporting the patient to a trauma-capable hospital.
The sheriff’s release does not announce a criminal charge or final crash finding. Its description of how the pickup left the roadway should therefore be understood as the agency’s initial public account, not a court determination or a complete reconstruction.
Readers can find more verified lifesaving work in ThinBlueNews’ police rescue news, police hero stories, first responder news and positive police news coverage.
Sources and image attribution
- Oneida County Sheriff’s Office: official Aug. 1 crash-and-rescue release. Primary source for the dispatch time, crash sequence, deputy’s rescue, medical transport and responding agencies.
- Oneida Dispatch: “Oneida deputies rescue man from burning vehicle after crash, police say,” published Aug. 3, 2026. Local corroborating report based on Sheriff Robert Maciol’s statement.
Featured-image note: The source image is the official Oneida County Sheriff’s Office seal displayed with the agency release. ThinBlueNews placed it in a factual editorial card with visible attribution. The agency did not publish an incident photograph or video, so no unrelated crash image, synthetic officer, fabricated fire scene or purported body-camera frame was used.
If an agency representative, responder or reader sees anything that should be corrected or updated, please contact ThinBlueNews through our corrections and editorial standards page.