CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A crash that claimed the life of a Corpus Christi man over the weekend also highlighted a strong sense of comradery and morality, as a group of drivers pulled the man's body from a flaming truck.
According to Texas DPS, the driver was headed north on I-37 at a high rate of speed and experienced a blowout of one of his truck's tires. causing him to travel off the roadway and into a concrete pillar, coming to a rest beneath an overpass.
Misael Lugo died from his injuries after his truck flipped multiple times before catching fire.
Henry Ybarra, who was one of the drivers who stopped to pull 54-year-old man's body out of the vehicle, said that he didn't even know if anyone was still in the vehicle when he stopped to help.
"We knew that vehicle was fixing to blow up," Ybarra said.
He and a group of drivers were able to break one of the windows to pull Lugo out. He said once they did, he began life-saving measures.
"Performing CPR, checking for a pulse and we could not find a pulse," Ybarra said.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Rob Mallory said that it is believed that Lugo was deceased before they pulled him out of the vehicle.
Mallory said that while he applauds the efforts of those who stopped to help, he wants to make sure drivers are being cautious.
"Be mindful of things like broken glass, I know they had to pull him from the back window because of the way the frame was bent," he said.
Ybarra said that while he couldn't save Lugo's life, he hopes that efforts of strangers can still provide some sort of peace.
"Even though it wasn't the outcome we wanted, at least his family will have some closure," he said.