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HIGHLAND, Utah (AP) -- A 19-year-old man trapped in a burning pickup truck escaped death when another motorist stopped to pull him from the wreckage, authorities said Thursday. "There was no doubt he could not move," said Trooper Preston Raban of the Utah Highway Patrol.
Michael Rhodes of Lehi was driving west down American Fork Canyon when his pickup went off the road and struck two trees just before midnight Tuesday in Utah County.
A passenger, Nathan Wagstaff of Saratoga Springs, had a broken femur and other injuries but managed to climb out, Raban said.
Alex Bray of Pleasant Grove stopped at the scene and yanked Rhodes from the truck "just as the fire was about to overtake the cab," Trooper Benjamin Cox said.
Bray and his passenger, Sarah Cannan of Provo, dragged Rhodes and Wagstaff from the flames and covered them with wet blankets, not far from the Timpanogos Cave Visitor Center.
The injured men were recovering at separate hospitals, Raban said. "The outcome would have been tragic had it not been for the actions of these two courageous individuals," the Utah Highway Patrol said.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
