FIRESTONE, Colo. -- A truck driver who rescued two girls from a burning sport utility vehicle said he was unable to save their mother because the flames were too intense.

Jorge Orozco-Sanchez told 7NEWS that he was hauling a load of corn from Sterling to an ethanol plant in Windsor when the SUV crossed over into his lane on Highway 392, north of Greeley.

"I remember seeing her holding the steering wheel and looking right at me," Orozco-Sanchez said.

With a concrete-lined irrigation ditch just north of the shoulder, the truck driver said there was no room to pull off the highway.

The vehicles collided head-on, then burst into flames.

Orozco-Sanchez called 911 then grabbed a fire extinguisher.

"I asked for help and nobody showed up," he said. "So I grabbed one girl and pulled her out and put her on the ground, then ran back to get the other one."

By then the SUV had filled with smoke. He couldn't see the second girl, then he remembered she was sitting in a child seat.

"He was tapping to see where the seat belt was and the buckle," said the truck driver's wife, Susie Orozco. "That's how he got her out."

Orozco-Sanchez told 7NEWS he kept thinking about his own children.

"I have a 1-year-old and a 5-year-old," he said. "The first thing that came to my mind was, what if it was them in there? That's what pushed me to get them out."

"He's a hero," his wife said.

But Orozco-Sanchez said he doesn't feel like one.

"I went back to see if I could save the mom, but my truck exploded or her truck exploded and was just covered completely in flames," he said wiping tears from his eyes. "It was just way too hot."

State Trooper Gilbert Mares said the Firestone truck driver did what he could.

"As you can see, with the enormous heat and fire and the way these two vehicles were destroyed, he did the right thing," Mares said. "I do believe he did save these two individual's lives."

Melissa Nicklas, 27, of Eaton, died in the 2006 GMC Envoy. A neighbor said the young mom was on her way home from a doctor's appointment.

Peyton Nicklas, 5, was taken to North Colorado Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries. Peyton's sister, 1-year-old Morgen Nicklas was airlifted to Children's Hospital. No information is available on their current conditions.

"Our condolences to their family," said Susie Orozco. "Those two girls are going to grow up without their mom."

Investigators are still trying to figure out why Nicklas' SUV veered into the oncoming lane that Tuesday afternoon. Orozco-Sanchez said he couldn't tell if the other driver was distracted.

The truck driver sustained minor injuries in the crash and was singed by the flames, but his thoughts are with the girls and their family.

Orozco-Sanchez was traveling with his 1-year-old Chihuahua, Onsa. He said he doesn't know if Onsa was able to jump out of the truck or if he perished in the blaze.