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SPANISH FORK — It's an image no one will ever forget, especially if you were there.
"I saw this huge fireball flying through the air," said Steve Saunders, a motorist who witnessed an explosion on I-15 on Nov. 28.
Saunders was driving along the freeway in Spanish Fork when he saw the explosion. Then he realized it came from a tanker truck and the driver was still inside.
"It was fully engulfed in flames and he was actually still in the flames,” Saunders said. “And he was actually crawling out of the flames. At that point, I thought I just can't stand here and watch this guy die."
Saunders, who is a Nevada law enforcement officer, ran to the driver, Leslie Shelton, but it was too hot so he yelled at him to roll.
"This man showed an amazing amount of strength and willpower and a will to survive," Saunders said of Shelton.
Eventually the driver made it away from the flames.
"I've seen the footage. Twice was all I could do," said Jerry Shelton, Leslie Shelton’s father.
Jerry Shelton knows his son shouldn't still be alive.
"I don’t think we'll ever know exactly what happened,” he said. “I'm not sure what the investigation has been, but I can’t thank the people enough that risked their lives to save our son."
I cannot thank you enough for what you did for my son. He would not — literally would not be here if people hadn't stopped and helped him.
–Jerry Shelton to Steve Saunders
Leslie Shelton has severe burns all over his body, but he's alive.
When Jerry Shelton and Saunders were interviewed Wednesday night, they spoke on the phone for the first time — Saunders on Skype in Nevada and Shelton at his Sugarhouse home.
"I cannot thank you enough for what you did for my son,” Jerry Shelton told Saunders. “He would not — literally would not be here if people hadn't stopped and helped him.”
Saunders let the concerned father know he wasn’t the only one who worked to rescue his son.
“Jerry, I want you to realize it wasn't just me, it was also a lot of other motorists that stopped to help, and I wouldn't have been able to do that without them,” he said. “Your son had an incredible will to survive. It was amazing to watch him fight for his life."
It was a fight that wouldn't have happened if not for the right people in the right place at the right time.
"It gives you that warmth, that place of 'Yes, there's good people,' ” Jerry Shelton said. “Yes, there is hope. Yes, good things happen in bad situations."
Leslie Shelton had his first surgery Tuesday and has several more scheduled. His family put a photo of him taken prior to the crash up in his hospital room, so he remembers who he is and the hospital staff can know what he’s like.
Contributing: Jay Dortzbach and Keira Farrimond
