DENVER -- Several witnesses helped a truck driver escape his burning vehicle after a crash that shutdown I-25 for hours on Wednesday.
A CDOT maintenance crew was in the area and two workers rushed over to help after a fuel tanker slammed into a concrete barrier. They also had some assistance from a Broomfield man who was driving behind the tanker when it crashed.
Dave Fretz immediately put his pickup truck in park and ran toward the tanker.
"I don’t know, I don’t know what it was, I just was thinking about him 'cause I knew he had to still be in there," said Fretz.
The three men worked to get the driver away from the vehicle. He was bleeding and video shows him falling but he was ultimately able to walk on his own.
Fretz said they heard an explosion shortly after the driver was a safe distance away. That explosion was followed by several more and soon the tanker was engulfed.
CDOT tweeted out a picture of the employees with Executive Director Shailen Bhatt.
Exec Director, Shailen Bhatt, with our 2 brave CDOT employees who helped the driver from today's tanker fire reach safety. Excellent work! pic.twitter.com/QryWprx7jf
— CDOT (@ColoradoDOT) June 1, 2017
Several people were in the right place, including a private ambulance company that was sitting in traffic when the accident happened. Those medics were the first emergency responders on scene.
"I was just so worried about the guy, I’ll probably be thinking about him and praying for him tonight," said Fretz. "And thanking God that me and them two CDOT guys, we’re alright."
