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Sam Penrod Reporting"I could hear the truck driver screaming, ‘I'm in here, help me, help me,' and I could hear Russ. And I said, ‘I'm coming Russ.'"
A violent crash as a semi truck full of crude oil plows right into a grocery store in Duchesne County. The truck was on Highway 40, transporting the oil to the refineries in Salt Lake. An elderly woman, who troopers say caused the crash, died. It happened in Fruitland.
Fruitland is a place where everyone knows everyone, and while it is a tragedy, we found there were some real heroic actions there today.
A mess of debris, tar, potato chips and candy is all that's left of Charlotte Carr's store. She says it sounded like a hurricane as the semi truck loaded with thousands of gallons of crude oil crashed into the store.
Charlotte Carr, Store owner: "I think my truck saved me because it is sitting right in my office."
Her truck took the brunt of the collision and she was able to crawl out of a small window in her office. Sadly, the 86-year old woman who was driving this pickup was killed after she pulled onto the highway in front of the semi.
Grant Lindsay, Witness: "I looked through my rear view and I could see that truck going sideways, and I said, ‘My hell that truck's going to go through the store.'"
Grant Lindsay and his wife were the first ones to help.
Audrey Lindsay, Witness: "Char was screaming, ‘Don't go in there.' I said, ‘Who's in there, Russ is in there. Russ is a neighbor of mine and he is blind. And I said, ‘I sure as heck am going in there.' She said, ‘Don't, it's going to blow. And I said, ‘I don't care.'"
Audrey Lindsay kept her neighbor calm, while her husband helped the truck driver.
Grant Lindsay, Witness: "He kept saying, ‘I'm bleeding pretty bad, help me get out of here.' And I said, ‘Partner, we can't even get into the cab,' it was just mashed."
That's when a UHP trooper crawled through the tar and broke out the back window.
Luke Stradinger, UHP: "I crawled in through the sleeper, pulled some debris out from beneath the gentleman that was trapped in the truck, and I pulled him out."
The truck driver and the customer were both taken to the hospital in serious but stable condition.
Charlotte has owned the store for about three years and while her store is gone, she is still counting her blessings.
Charlotte Carr: "I'm just glad everybody is okay that was in the store and my prayers go to everybody. I'm just thankful to be here."
The woman who died in the crash is identified as Natalie Roundy.
HAZ MAT teams are still there, doing what they can to clean up a very big mess.
