Rebecca Anderson and Daniel Mena met recently after 27 years. Mena, a former police officer, saved Anderson from a burning car crash that killed her mother, Linda Wageman.
Anderson and Wageman were driving in North Hills on October 14, 1997, when their car was hit by another vehicle trying to escape the police.
The crash caused their car to catch fire. Sadly, Wageman died, but Anderson was rescued by Mena, who saw the accident happen.
Anderson hadn’t seen Mena since that day until they finally met again earlier this week. She was grateful and emotional, thanking him for saving her life.
Anderson only found out about Mena’s bravery last month when he sent her a letter explaining what happened. Before that, she thought it was first responders who had saved her.
Mena recounted how he pulled Anderson from the wreckage and tried to save Wageman but couldn’t because of the intense heat.
After receiving Mena’s letter, Anderson took a week to call him, and they talked about what had happened that night. They agreed to meet in person, which they did recently.
Anderson wore a special t-shirt to the meeting, honoring Mena and the date of the crash. She plans to get one for Mena as well.
Both Anderson and Mena expressed their desire to meet again in the future.
