VINITA, Okla. — Heroes don't always wear capes. They can come in all shapes, sizes, and ages.
On June 19 in Vinita, the 'hero' title applied to 90-year-old Bill Brown and 76-year-old Mike Hamilton.
WATCH: "It's a happy ending." Unlikely heroes save semi-truck driver in fiery Vinita crash
Brown was the first person on the scene of a fiery semi-truck crash on I-44. The truck tumbled off the road onto Highway 60 below, right in front of Brown's truck, bursting into flames.
Previous Coverage >>> Only minor injuries after truck hits bridge in Vinita
"I backed up my truck a little bit, and I got out of," Brown said. "And i heard him hollering."
The semi driver was stuck inside the fire. So Brown went after him.
"I grabbed a hold of him, and picked him up," Brown said. "I pulled him back, and dropped him. I couldn't hold him."
That's where Hamilton came in, rushing up moments later to help.
"I was afraid I was going to run up on somebody burnt up, but thank God he was alive and we both got him out," Hamilton said. "I don't think either one of us could've done it by ourselves."
Together, they pulled the driver, and themselves to safety.
"If he hadn't come helped me, I probably would've died with that guy," Brown said. "We would've both burned to death. I would not have left him."
"It's a happy ending," Hamilton added.
Both men doing what they felt was right, and neither feel like heroes.
"You know, i don't feel like I was a hero then, and I don't feel like I'm a hero now," Brown said. "Just doing what I was trained to do."
"I'd be glad if somebody did the same thing for me," Hamilton said. "I'd want somebody, if I was hanging upside down out of a burning truck, I'd want somebody to get me out."
These two men were strangers before the accident. Now, they're connected forever.
"This guy is my salvation," Brown said.
Brown told me the semi driver called him the next morning to thank him, and that he'd like to meet him and Hamilton again in person to show his appreciation. Everybody involved in the accident suffered only minor injuries.
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