Flames engulfed motorist, and he might not have survived without these Good Samaritans

Ben Lopez said he felt guilty because he did not do more to help an injured motorist who lay on the ground just feet away from the growing inferno that had engulfed his ruined pickup on Wednesday.

But he did do something.

He stopped.

"I started to go in there myself but the heat was too much for me," said Lopez, a 55-year-old Fort Worth man. "I started yelling at the guy to crawl and he said I can't and then he did. He crawled about 10 more feet."

The man, who has not been identified by authorities, crashed his older model pickup into a bridge pillar while traveling northbound in the 12800 block of Interstate 35W about 4:40 p.m., according to police.

Lopez said he saw a single tire flying under the bridge and turned around to see what had happened. Lopez said by the time he pulled over, there were four or five people already there trying to help.

"Once the vehicle caught fire, the fire was everywhere," Lopez said. "It seemed like forever that guy was rolling around in the flames."

One person brought a small fire extinguisher along but ended up not using it, Lopez said. The intensity of the flames made using it seem futile, the man said according to Lopez.

Lopez said he did get close enough to the truck to make sure no one else was inside, although he said later that he is sure they would not have survived.

"I was glad to see there were at least four or five people there," Lopez said. "I'm positive that had those guys not been there he would not have been alive to tell his story."

Cody Norris, one of the men who helped the driver escape the flames, said he just wants to make sure the injured motorist is doing well while recovering in the hospital.

Norris, who was in town on business from Austin, said the truck's driver had just passed him and a co-worker when he heard something go "pop."

"It looked like he had a blowout," Norris said.

Norris said he slammed on his brakes and turned around while his co-worker called 911. Two people were already there pulling him away from the truck when they arrived, Norris said.

"We kept having to scoot him away from his truck because the fire just kept growing and growing and growing," Norris said. "I can't imagine a scenario where he would have been able to get out of the truck unless he was at least partially thrown out. It was violent."

One of the men who responded to the emergency burned his arm while helping with the rescue, Norris said. But the injured man remained conscious throughout his ordeal, Norris said.

"His face was in pretty good shape but the rest of him was really severely burned ," Norris said. "I just wanted to keep him talking and keep him engaged while all this was going on."

Michael Walker, 31, of Fort Worth, who also stopped to help, described a scene that was horrific and said he was surprised the injured man survived.

The gasoline leaking from his truck and running into the storm drain was on fire, Walker said. The rescuers were able to get some water from a construction worker that they used to douse the fire around the truck, Walker said.

They did so because they wanted the injured man to remain on the grass and avoid putting him on concrete that was hotter than 100 degrees and next to a raging fire, Walker said.

"The spirit of Texas, I love it," Walker said. "There were so many people who stopped on the side of the road to help this man."

This story was originally published June 29, 2018 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Flames engulfed motorist, and he might not have survived without these Good Samaritans."