Heroic man tried to save driver caught in Highway 40 inferno

Carol Bujoldwas driving a45-foottruckwestbound on the A-40,Montreal's Metropolitan highway,Tuesday afternoon when he braced himself for a collision.

His truck hit the vehicle in front of him and then was rear-ended by a tanker truck.

• LATEST|Highway 40 completely reopens following fatal tanker fire

Bujoldgot out of his truckto survey the scene. When he reached the tanker truck behind him, heheard Gilbert Prince,the driver, screaming, pleading for someone to rescue him.

Bujold tried,as flames licked the tankerthat was carrying 45,000 litres ofdiesel fuel. He was forcedto give up. Soon after, thoseflames overtook the cab in which the other driver was trapped.

Prince died in the inferno.

Bujold hurthis hand but was otherwise physicallyunharmed, saidJean Carrire, his boss at Montreal-based construction company Givesco. Bujold isn't speaking publicly; his boss is recounting the story on behalf of the company.

Bujold was evaluated at a psychiatric hospital and is now home,Carrire said.

When Carrire spoke toBujold, he saidall thedrivercould talk aboutwas his failed attempt to save his trapped colleague.

"He told me, 'Jean, I feel so responsible.' I said, 'You did everything you could. You tried, not too many people would have ran in there with a [tanker]truck on fire to try and get the door open.' He's a real hero,"Carriresaid.

Man tries desperately to save fellow truck driver

8 years ago

Duration 2:52

A man is seen trying to pull the driver from a truck filled with diesel before it exploded in Montreal on Tuesday.

Pleas in vain

In a video taken by a witness,Bujoldcan be seen walking toward the truck behind him after the collision.When he discoversthere is someone inside,he rushesback to his truck and retrievesa crowbar.

Knowing that somebody inside the vehicle is going to die, it's the worst feeling in the world.- JeanCarrire, boss of CarolBujold, who tried to rescue Gilbert Prince from burning truck

Bujoldknew he only had seconds to act, Carrire said. By the time he got the crowbar and started running back to the truck, the fire had already started.

Smoke was taking over the cab.He saw that the steering wheel was more or less pushed up against Prince'srib cage, trappinghim inside.

Bujoldtried to reach the terrified manfrom the driver's side, then ran around and tried to pry open the passenger door, to no avail.

• Dramatic collision on Metropolitan kills 1, closes scene for inspection

"It's a picture and sound I think will stay in Carol's mind for a long time," Carrire said.

Carrire said Bujold was particularly disappointed that while he was frantically trying to save the trapped man, noone stopped to help.

"The whole thing demolished him,"Carrire said.

Son stressed out over ordeal

Cline Comtois, Bujold's mother, told Radio-Canada she got a call from his wife about the accident yesterday.

Comtois spoke to her son this morning and says he's stressed out about the ordeal he went through.

"He doesn't feel like he's able to tell the story," she said.

Comtois said she's been fielding calls from people for news about Bujold since they heard about theaccident.

She said her son is a man who is always ready to help.

"Oh yes I'm proud of him. I've been proud of him for a long time," she said.

Cause under investigation

Bujold'sattempt to rescue his fellow truck driver came as no surprise to his boss.

Carriresaid Bujold is a "fantastic guy,"the kind of personwho hugs his colleagues when he comes to workin the morning.

Bujold, 51, has a wife and a young son. Hehas taken time off work while he recovers.

"Knowing that somebody inside the vehicle is going to die, it's the worst feeling in the world,"Carriresaid.

Provincial police say the collision wascaused bya vehicle stopped on the highway, but it is still unclear why that truck was not moving.

• Highway 40 accident: What happened and what's next?

In all, six people suffered minor injuries in the pileup.

A section of the highway is closed in the westbound direction until further notice, while provincial transportation ministry inspectors assess the elevated structure for damage.