TOOELE, Utah — The city of Tooele is still shaken up after a semi-truck lost control Friday afternoon, taking out 32 cars before crashing into a Ford car dealership, which then caught on fire.
It was a sight those who witnessed it could only describe as "cinematic."
“It looked like a scene out of a movie. That’s the only way I could describe it,” said Aly Mastro.
“A movie scene. A movie scene 100 percent," echoed Drayke Gray.
VIDEO BELOW: Dashcam captures moment when the truck barrels through traffic (via Austin England)
While the dealership on fire was the pinpoint of everyone’s attention, on the side, community members sprang into action to lend a helping hand.
“It looked like people poured out of nowhere,” described Mastro. “They were getting out of their cars, I don’t know if they came out of businesses, but there were so many people walking, running to get there.”
Mastro was one of those people jumping in. She said she was at the Zaxby’s drive-thru across the street when it happened.
“The woman behind me said ‘What can we do?’ and I said, ‘Look for kids,'" she said. "She was teacher... I’m a hairdresser, so we were looking for someone with kids, and there was a man who had a 4- and a 6-year-old, so we helped him get to the side and he went to help more people.”
Others like Drayke Gray ran straight toward the smoke.
“I was able to go through the main entrance of the building and just telling everyone around back, just, ‘Hey, we gotta go. Everybody let’s go,'" he said.
Gray said he then went car by car to see who needed help.
“Moved onto the next vehicle which was a yellow truck,” Gray said. “The driver was still in his seat and it was on the passenger side. Me and my coworker were able to break the window, as well as other bystanders.”
The North Tooele Fire Department posted to Facebook that there were more than 30 firefighters from seven departments who came to aid.
“Most of those firefighters are volunteers. They dropped everything when that call came out and we’re all very fortunate that the women and men in Tooele are willing to do so," the department said.
“This was 100 percent a team effort,” said Gray, “Between the response from the community, the response from first responders, it was 100 percent a team effort all around.”
He said the Walmart nearby came out and handed people water bottles, while other businesses offered food and other essentials.
"People are so willing to help here more than anywhere else I’ve ever lived,” said Mastro. “It’s really a community that sticks together.”
Cpl. Colby Bentley with the Tooele City Police Department said as of Saturday evening, the 67-year-old woman who was airlifted to the hospital is still in critical condition, and the other 10 patients have non-life-threatening injuries.
He said the investigation into the case of the truck losing control is still ongoing while they wait to hear back from a few experts in the field.
