A tire on Larry Coulter 's truck blew near Buffalo , New York , sending it into a guardrail and causing the vehicle to overturn and catch alight . He was unable to reach the doors because of flames so tried to kick out the windshield but could n't ; he thought he was going to die . The fire department arrived quickly enough that they were able to put out the blaze before any more damage occurred.
A tire on Larry Coulter 's truck blew near Buffalo , New York , sending it into a guardrail and causing the vehicle to overturn and catch alight . He was unable to reach the doors because of flames so tried to kick out the windshield but could n't ; he thought he was going to die . Then passing motorist Ed Brunner jumped from his car and started throwing rocks that had fallen from the truck - breaking the windshield . Coulter was able to escape and was treated for smoke inhalation .