CHICAGO (WLS) — Cellphone video obtained exclusively by ABC7 showed the rush to save a driver’s life after his large truck flipped over with gas spilling out on I-57.
The crash happened Saturday morning near the 111th exit on Chicago’s Far South Side.
ABC7 spoke to one of the good Samaritans who stepped in to help moments after the crash.
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The crash unfolded during a windy Saturday morning on I-57 near Morgan Park. Witnesses said out of nowhere a large truck flipped on its side. A group of good Samaritans quickly took action to help the driver trapped in the wreckage.
It was a desperate rush to save a truck driver’s life. The cellphone video showed a group of good Samaritans carrying the truck driver’s limp body away from the wreckage after his truck rolled over.
The truck was carrying flatbeds when it crashed right in front Cornelius Owens’ car while he was driving to work.
“It was real windy, this morning, so obviously that wind took the one that didn’t have anything holding it down and that’s when it flipped,” Owens said. “And, I literally jetted across the highway as if I was walking across the street. No car came. I appreciate that. I thank God for that. Got over there and I happened to see the male driver. He was hurting really bad.”
The driver was pulled out of the truck, and as he kept going in and out of consciousness.
“We were smelling the gas, and all of the leaks were coming out of that truck fast,” Owens said.
It was a split decision to help save a life of a stranger – an action that Owens said he would do again for anyone in need.
“I don’t call myself a hero, just an everyday guy, going to work, trying to make things happen, and I seen a Samaritan that needed some help, and I wanted to help,” Owens said. “That’s it.”
Owens said some of the good Samaritans remained on scene until first responders arrived.
ABC7 has reached out to Illinois State Police for more information about the crash, including the condition of the driver, but have not heard back.
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