A motorist who did all he could to try and free a trucker trapped inside a burning rig has reached out to the driver’s family to let them know the driver “was not alone” when he died.
The wreck happened on Wednesday, November 15th at approximately 3:45 p.m. east of Atlanta, Georgia.
According to AJC, 40-year-old Scott Brantley was driving a semi truck on Interstate 20 east in Morgan County near mile marker 124 when it collided with a box truck hauling a mobile generator. The force of the impact ignited the fuel from the generator, sparking a fire that soon fully engulfed the cab of the tractor trailer.
Fire fighters were called immediately, but were slow to arrive due to heavy traffic backed up for nearly 10 miles, so bystanders quickly sprang into action.
“I was the one who got close to see if we could open the cab door, but there was no way we could get it open,” said Rudy Lanuza, a motorist near the wreck when the collision occurred.
Motorists were scrambling for fire extinguishers and desperately trying the doors of the burning big rig, but with no luck. Brantley was trapped inside.
Lanuza says that he attached a chain to the door of the cab the best he could and tried to remove it by attaching the other end of the chain to his pickup, but all he managed to do was bend the frame of the rig.
“His legs were pinned… It wouldn’t open…” Lanuza said.
Eventually, the flames got too hot, forcing Lanuza and the other motorists to back away.
By the time emergency services arrived, the cab was already “fully involved” with the fire.
Brantley was pronounced dead on scene and no other injuries were reported.
“I want his family to know that witnesses did everything they could,” explained Lanuza.
“He was not alone.”
Authorities are still investigating the exact cause of the crash.
