At first, he thought it was a car accident. But Staff Sergeant Joshua Hayes then realized it was something worse.

“I was like, that sounded a lot more like a mortar round, like when we launch direct fire, it sounded a lot like a mortar round,” Hayes said. “That’s when we heard the waitress say the gas truck just exploded.”

Hayes and a friend, Pfc. Jacob Lundemo, had stopped for a cup of coffee at a diner in the St. Lawrence County town of Fowler, when they heard and felt it.

The two soldiers helped evacuate the diner and then ran towards the fueling station in the back. They saw a truck they describe as having “mushroomed” out the rear, with flames shooting out.

They then saw a man underneath it.

“I instantly asked him what his name was. He responded that his name was John,” Lundemo said. “I told him, ‘You’re going to be all right. We’re about to get you out of here.’ It was just to keep him talking.”

The soldiers, along with an employee and someone nearby, brought the man out of harm’s way and provided medical service until an ambulance arrived. The man is seriously injured, but thanks to all involved, is expected to survive.

The two soldiers say once things have settled a bit, they plan to reach to the man they rescued from underneath the truck to see how he is doing and if there is anything they can do for him or his family.