LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- When Darin Barton saw an out-of-control semi truck crash into more than two dozen cars stuck in rush hour traffic, he sprang into action.
Barton was on the street corner at Denver West Marriott Boulevard and Interstate 70 on Thursday, panhandling by a guard rail, when he saw the truck barreling out of control.
"I heard the truck plowing through cars and as I looked, his cab rolled over and (burst into) a ball of flames," he said. "Explosion after explosion, and as people were running out of it, I ran toward it."
Barton said that the truck driver just "plowed through" the other cars and they "bounced off of him as he plowed through them."
The good Samaritan said he and others were able to get a woman to safety.
When asked why he ran toward the flames, he said he didn't give it any thought, but hoped that others would have done the same for him.
Neighbor Dan Bass said he was so impressed with Barton's action that he decided to help the homeless man.
He set up a GoFundMe account to help raise a little cash.
Bass said he saw the flames from his neighborhood and initially thought it was a building that was on fire.
As he made his way to the scene, he saw the growing inferno and learned of Barton's action.
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