MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A truck driver was killed in a crash on I-22 in Mississippi, according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
Mississippi Highway Patrol responded to the crash on I-22 near mile marker 22 in Marshall County at around 11:29 a.m. Thursday morning.
Officials say a 2019 freightliner traveling eastbound on I-22 collided with the rear of a 2006 freightliner that was also traveling eastbound.
MHP says 61-year-old Leander Webb of Como, Mississippi, died as a result of the crash. He was pronounced dead at Regional One.
Dawn and Paton Quillian were faced with the devastating scene Thursday.
“I see three gentlemen pulling a guy across the median,” Dawn said.
Paton rushed to join a group attempting to free Webb from his truck.
“It took about 10 of us to lift the cab up so the gentleman could pull him out so we could get him away from the truck,” Paton said. “It wasn’t that bad until stuff started popping and exploding and then we knew we had to get.”
They managed to free Webb. He was still alert and talking when paramedics arrived and airlifted him to the hospital.
That’s as far as he made it.
“It breaks my heart because I know – I know what happened,” Dawn said. “God put me in that place at that time for a reason and I did what I could.”
Her husband did what he could, too. Many would consider his actions heroic, but he doesn’t.
“I don’t want to be a hero,” Paton said. “I’d rather that man be alive than be a hero.”
MHP says the crash is still under investigation.