Man describes pulling driver from doomed tanker

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Early Thursday evening, firefighters were putting out hot spots at the scene of a propane tanker explosion that occurred at the I-69 and I-465 interchange Thursday morning.

Emergency officials told 24-Hour News 8 the huge explosion near I-69 to I-465 was like nothing they had ever seen before.

(If you took pictures or video of the explosion scene please send them to newspics@wishtv.com)

(Read more related stories to the Tanker Explosion)

The huge plume of smoke from the explosion burned billboards and even the top of a Department of Transportation communications tower.

It was a fireball fed by as much as 1,000 pounds of liquid propane.

The propane trailer exploded under an I-465 overpass after it became separated from the truck pulling it.

Lonnie Hood, with the help of another man, pulled the truck driver, 73-year-old Ronald Tobias of Syracuse, Indiana to safety. He was taken to Methodist Hospital with injuries that are not life threatening.

Hood said he was able to get Tobias out of the truck quickly.

"I ran around the back side. We couldn’t get up over the top of it to get in the door because it was leaning so far over. I just looked around and there the windshield was and it was broke, somewhat broke. Another guy came up behind me and tried to get hold of the windshield and I gave it a swift kick and just went in and there (the truck driver) was trying to claw his way out and we just grabbed him and carried him up the hill," said Hood. "I really wasn’t thinking too much. In the back of my head I was like, it’s on fire, it could blow up. I was mainly worried about getting him out of there."

Hood said, at the time, he didn't think about the fact that he was risking his life to save the truck driver.

"Not really that I could die. It did cross my mind that the truck was going to blow up in my face because it was on fire with diesel and everything. It was on fire pretty good. I was like, 'Is it going to blow up or is it not?' But when I saw (the truck driver), everything else went blank. It was like there he is, I’m not going to leave him, I’m going to get him and we’re going to get out of here. Instinct took over and that’s just what happened."

Lawrence Township Fire Marshal said a trailing motorist suffered more serious injuries, "And he did sustain some burns, 20% as I understand of second and third degree burns, so he was taken to the Wishard burn unit."