Mission Viejo honors two teens who pulled two people from burning car

Mission Viejo honored two 18‑year‑olds Tuesday night after they helped pull a man and a woman from a vehicle that had become engulfed in flames.

Mayor (label 1) introduced a short video and described the “acts of courage” by Caden Bunge and Hudson Maline, who were invited to the dais for a certificate of heroism. In a video and in-person remarks, the teens said they found a burning car, entered the vehicle and helped remove the trapped passengers. “I just helped get her unbuckled, pulled her to the side, and then I ran around to the other side… and carried her out,” one of the teens said in the meeting video (speaker 5). Orange County Fire Authority personnel who responded said the victims had severe injuries and that the teenagers’ actions “100% saved these 2 people's lives,” according to an OCFA speaker (label 7).

Representatives from the offices of state Senator Catherine Blakespear and Congresswoman Young Kim attended to present additional certificates and praise. Kim Carr, a representative for the state senator, told the teens, “the courage that you displayed… is just so exceptional.” The mayor later invited local county and assembly office representatives to present additional commendations.

City officials said both patients were taken to Mission Hospital as traumas and that first responders treated both at the scene before transport. The council paused regular business to take a photograph with the honorees and representatives from the state and federal offices before resuming the meeting.