PETERSBURG, Va. -- The driver pulled from a car Monday afternoon in Petersburg was shot before he crashed into a tree, police on scene toldCBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil.
Petersburg Police were called to the intersection of Wythe and Dunlop streets just after noon on Monday after neighbors heard gunshots.
When police arrived, they saw a burning car that had crashed into a tree.
"The airbag deployed, there was blood everywhere, and I heard him say, ‘Man, I've been shot,’” a witness who asked CBS 6 to hide his identity told Crime Insider Jon Burkett.
The man said he pulled the driver away from the car. He said just as he got him out of the driver’s seat, the car caught fire.
"Once I got him out, the flames started,” he said. “It was in the nick of time, yes. Had I not been there, he may have burned up in it."
The driver was rushed by ambulance to Southside Regional, then put on a Med-flight to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening wounds.
Police have not yet released the man's name and continue to investigate the circumstances that led up to the crash.
He was the third driver in a week to be shot while inside their car while driving on a Petersburg street, and the fifth shooting victim in seven days.
"We need people to tell us what's going on. This happened a couple of blocks away. But it's just where it ended up. So we want everybody to come forward. Tell us what's going on," Petersburg Police Capt. Greg Geist said. "We need to put an end to all these shootings happening here in Petersburg. It's just we need everybody's help. We need to come together as one community to stop these shootings."
Petersburg Police Deputy Chief Emmanuel Chambliss admitted the shootings were frustrating for investigators.
"We are not getting that many calls from the public offering to help in this,” Chambliss said. “We can't do it by ourselves. We need that community assistance to help solve crimes."
If you have any information, about the recent shootings in Petersburg, call 804-861-1212.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
