it comes in pints?

Holy shit update

It's not just this crew that brought up Rosie O'Donnell. She was mentioned on the radio this morning, there's a reference by Instadude and Rand Simberg, and I saw a couple of others this morning, too. Even the SFChron mentioned it (not Rosie by name, see below).

SFGate has links to video of the blaze and the aftermath.

And I have a new hero named Anthony.

James Mosqueda, the driver in Sunday's fiery fuel-tanker crash, climbed out of the cab of his truck just moments before an explosion so powerful and hot that it melted steel and brought down a freeway, witnesses and law enforcement officials said.

Nah, no rimshot at Rosie.

Mosqueda, a 51-year-old father of three from Woodland (Yolo County), walked away from the wreck -- and kept on walking.

He walked for a mile and a half in all -- first along the overpass where he crashed and then for at least 13 blocks through the desolate streets of West Oakland -- to an Arco gas station, where he approached a cabdriver and asked for a ride to a hospital, police said.

The Friendly Cab driver, who identified himself to The Chronicle only as Anthony, 46, of San Jose, said he had just pulled into the gas station at West Grand Avenue and Market Street when he saw Mosqueda.

"He walked up to me. He was in pain. He was telling me he was dying. He had blisters, bubbles on his hands. Part of his hair was burnt," the cabbie said.

An hour had passed since the crash and, unbeknownst to the cabbie, authorities had been searching for the truck's driver.

During the 2-mile drive to Kaiser Oakland Medical Center, they talked about the crash. Mosqueda told the cabbie that he didn't remember the crash -- only the truck being on its side.

"He told me that as soon as he got out, it exploded," Anthony said.

When they pulled up to Kaiser at 4:51 a.m., Mosqueda got ready to pay the fare.

"He wanted to pay me, but I refused," the cabbie said.

Anthony, I owe you a beer.

Mosqueda was treated at Kaiser before being transferred later Sunday morning to the burn unit at St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco.

Mosqueda's father said his son was doing well despite second- degree burns to his face, neck and hands.

"He's OK now," he said in a brief telephone interview, adding that he expected his son to spend two or three days recovering at the hospital before coming home.

On radio, it was mentioned that he's still in critical condition so even three days sounds optimistic.

Posted by Ken S at April 30, 2007 05:44 AM | TrackBack (0) |