Semi Driver Recalls Harrowing Moments As Crews Worked To Rescue Him

A truck driver is lucky to be alive after his semi flipped over on U.S Highway 412, trapping him inside.

Today, that man reunited with the firefighters who spent hours working to save his life.

“I was scared, I was really scared,” Darrell Marshall said.

It was an intense scene just two weeks ago, as firefighters worked to free Darrell Marshall from the bed of his semi.

Miraculously, he came out relatively unscathed.

“I didn't break no bone in my body,” Marshall said.

7/23/2016 Related Story: Driver Rescued From Truck Crash On U.S. 412

Near the Westport exit, it was an outcome that surprised even the most seasoned of Tulsa Fire's Rescue Task Force, like Capt. Mike Burgess.

“We expected for it to be something way worse, really,” Burgess said. “Then, you know, we expected someone to be dead to be honest with you,” Burgess said. “I was amazed when I got down there and I saw Darrell and he was talking to us."

In fact, Marshall hung there -- upside down – and trapped on the side of Highway 412 for more than 2 and a half hours.

Part of that time, he didn’t even know how many people were working to get to him.

“Help, help… and I heard someone say, ‘I I hear him,’ and then I got a brush of fresh air and I was like *sigh*."

Marshall, his wife and their three children traveled 3 hours Saturday from Towanda, Kansas, to thank the men and women who rescued him.

“Something like this really helps us to see why we do what we do,” Burgess said.

And even though it's their job, Darrell says he'll never forget how the firefighters worked to save his life.

“When they took me out, I knew I'd be all right,” he said.

The Peninsula Fire Department, the Westport Fire Department, the Sand Springs Fire Department and the Cleveland Fire Department also helped rescue Marshall.