Driver crawls to safety through windshield after fire engulfs fuel truck

The driver of a fuel truck has been filmed scrambling to safety through his windscreen as his entire vehicle went up in flames.

Motorist Joe DeGioia, 28, who was caught in traffic on the same New Jersey highway managed to capture the intense blaze before running to help the driver.

Mr DeGioia told the New York Daily News that when he first saw the fire he "didn't think anything of it".

"When I got closer it was surreal," he said. "You can hear two or three explosions … and then I saw the man crawl out of the windshield of the truck. After that I stopped filming."

That driver was Balwinder Singh, 35, and he's now in hospital in a critical condition.

The crash did, however, claim the life of James Pinaire, 24, the driver of an Audi A4 which was also involved in the collision.

The driver of a second tractor-trailer, Mario Quiroz, 53, also involved in the crash has since been released from hospital.

A preliminary investigation into the crash shows that Mr Pinaire's car first collided with Mr Singh's truck before the tanker slammed into the concrete barrier.