CTV News has obtained dramatic video showing a pickup truck crashing into three other vehicles and flipping in the air before starting on fire.
The fiery crash was captured by the surveillance camera at Lube Plus on County Road 42 late Saturday afternoon.
Owner Ali Mansour saw it from his office window and immediately went out to help.
“Out of nowhere, I see these cars explode right in front of me,” Mansour said.
He immediately ran out to help and came across a surreal scene.
"I go outside and there was a moment of quietness and pause. All the debris, the smoke... And then the instincts kick in," he said.
Lessons from Mansour's father – who is a retired firefighter in his home country of Lebanon -- quickly came to Mansour’s mind. He says he knew he had to head to the vehicle with the most damage first.
"I saw it squashed into pieces. I said, ‘This guy is definitely dead, there's nothing to rescue here’," he said.
So he headed over to a minivan that had been hit.
"I made eye contact with the driver and asked them if they were ok. They gave me the thumbs up,” he said.
After confirming the two people in the minivan were stable, Mansour headed to another vehicle that had been hit almost head-on. The car’s driver side door was smashed in. Several other men who had arrived on the scene tried to open it and free the driver but couldn’t. Mansour ran to the passenger side.
"When I opened the door, there was an airbag in the way. You could hear the screaming of a woman inside. I lifted the airbag and said, ‘Are you ok?’ She said ‘yes’."
Three people were taken to hospital with injuries.
The son of the driver of the black SUV says his father suffered multiple fractures and a severed finger.
The crash closed County Road 42 in both directions, just east of the airport, for a time.
Police say a male was arrested for impaired driving.
With files from CTVNews.ca.
