Good Samaritan recounts terrifying moments after deadly I-94 pileup crash

Dramatic traffic cam video captured the aftermath of a seven-car pile-up crash on I-94 last week, but good Samaritans quickly sprang into action to help save a 19-year-old’s life in the aftermath. One of them recounts his experience for FOX 9's Babs Santos.

ROGERS, Minn. (FOX 9) - Last week, dramatic traffic camera video captured the aftermath of a seven-car pile-up crash on I-94 that killed 42-year-old Miguel Perez of Brooklyn Center. Perez’s 19-year-old passenger was also badly hurt, but another driver who had just crashed then quickly sprang into action to help save the 19-year-old’s life.

"He was just yelling for help and it was the only thing I knew I could do," Collin Murray said. "He’d probably do the same thing for me."

Only moments before as Murray was driving home, he says a box truck in front of him slammed into a semi-trailer, part of a chain reaction of collisions that left him without any time to react, "I swerved and hit the back right of it and bounced off into the shoulder," Murray explained. "I was a little dazed for about a minute, but I was able to push the car door open and walk right out."

Then without thinking, Murray jumped into action and rushed to the side of the box truck. Only 30 seconds after the impact, he says the cab of the truck was engulfed in flames, and its door was jammed shut, so Murray helped pull the 19-year-old passenger through a broken window.

"And I saw the guy asking for help so I started to pull them out, because the fire was really hot, coming from the cab," Murray said. "It was getting really hot in there so we had to hurry."

Murray walked away unharmed, but knowing that another man was killed only feet away, now he’s even more thankful for his life, and glad he was able to help save another.

On Monday night, North Memorial Hospital confirmed the 19-year-old passenger is now in fair condition.