MESQUITE (KTNV) — A deadly crash on Interstate 15 near Mesquite prompted a group of bystanders to spring into action before first responders could arrive, pulling a man from a burning motor home after a collision with a semi-truck.
Steven Grossman, a retired Army National Guard veteran, said he was driving northbound on I-15 after a Fourth of July camping trip with his family when he saw a motor home cross the center median from the southbound lanes.
"It was like a pile of dust, it was going across the center medium and down that big hill," Grossman said.
WATCH | Nevada bystanders pull crash victim from burning motorhome on I-15 near Mesquite
Nevada State Police Highway Patrol said the motor home had a blown tire. When it crossed the median, it crashed into a semi-truck and burst into flames.
Grossman said he immediately pulled over and ran toward the fire.
"I seen it on fire and, you know, we just, I just got out of the truck and just ran over there," Grossman said.
Several other drivers also pulled over. Together, they worked to pull the motor home's driver to safety.
"Let's grab him and get him out of here. So we just grabbed him and just tugged him into the gutter right there, into the center medium," Grossman said.
A propane tank exploded shortly after.
Grossman used his military medical training to keep the man still, while another bystander helped stabilize the victim's neck until paramedics arrived.
The driver of the motor home, 62-year-old Gregory Louis Painter, later died at the hospital. Fire officials said 3 other people were taken to the hospital for injuries sustained in the crash.
Grossman said he does not consider himself a hero and that stopping to help was simply the right thing to do.
"We were just the first ones there that if the next people that were the first ones there would have done the same thing," Grossman said. "Same thing with behind them if it was 10 cars behind me, the cars behind them would have taken care of it. It's just I think it's just our human nature. People just want to help."
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