Milwaukee crash sparks vehicle fire, bystanders rescue driver

MILWAUKEE - On Nov. 3, multiple people ran toward the flames to pull a driver out following a fiery crash on Milwaukee’s north side.

"Tons of smoke. I’ve never seen so much smoke from a vehicle and then all of a sudden that smoke just lit up like a ball of fire," said Joe Bednarek.

Fiery crash

What To Know:

Bednarek was working near 6th and Chambers when he heard a crash and started taking video, initially thinking it was a crime. He then heard someone yell that a person was still in the truck.

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"I just ran. Instinctively ran to the vehicle," said Bednarek.

Milwaukee police said just before 10 a.m., the driver of the truck lost control and collided with a parked car. Both vehicles caught fire.

Driver rescued

What To Know:

"I saw panic in his eyes and that moment I was like nothing else matters. We got to get this guy out of here," said Bednarek.

Bednarek tried breaking the window, but it would not budge. The driver then opened the door.

"The look on his face. He was absolutely disoriented. He didn’t understand what was happening," said Ryan Eigenfeld.

Eigenfeld ran to help as well, ultimately dragging the 63-year-old man from the truck to safety.

"You just go. There wasn’t even hesitation. I didn’t feel any fear towards it. You just went to help," said Eigenfeld.

Less than 30 seconds later, flames engulfed the entire truck.

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"Within a minute, things could have been dramatically different," said Eigenfeld.

The driver of the truck was taken to the hospital for treatment Tuesday. FOX6 News reached out to police for an update on the man’s condition but did not receive an immediate response. No one else was hurt.

Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Christian Van Zelst and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.