A heroic passing motorist who fought desperately to save the victims of a horror crash said he held the hand of a dying driver and told him his daughter was safe.
Steve Wroe embarked on the daring rescue alongside other witnesses after spotting the carnage on the M62 which saw two men die.
The 59-year-old said he wanted one of the fatalities' families to know he was aware his daughter was safe when he passed away, reports Hull Live.
A HGV and a car had collided on the motorway near Goole, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, at around 9.50am last Wednesday.
According to the latest reports from Humberside Police, a 15-year-old girl remains in hospital.
Steve, from Huddersfield, said he and a group of men battled to save the girl, who had been travelling in the HGV, which had set on fire.
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The Good Samaritan described how, despite his best efforts, he was unable to free the lorry's 53-year-old driver.
Instead, Steve held his hand and was not willing to leave his side as he succumbed to his injuries.
Fighting back tears, he said: "I tried my hardest and I feel like I've failed the family because I couldn't do more.
"I just really need his family to know that the last words he heard were that we saved his daughter and she was safe.
"I had hold of his hand and kept telling him I was sorry, right until his final moments."
After seeing the accident ahead, Steve said he ran down the slip road and set out to rescue those involved.
He was joined by three other men who were attempting to force open the damaged door of the HGV involved and smashed the passenger window.
Steve has decades of experience as a HGV technician, and directed the men to focus on freeing the teenager from the vehicle, while he turned his attention on the man in the driver's seat.
They attempted to use a fire extinguisher to put out the flames but it was not holding them back.
Steve held the man's hand as it became clear he was unable to be rescued.
"It reached a point where I told him that I had to go and he passed in a matter of seconds afterwards.
"He wasn't suffering for a long time and we made sure to stay with him as long as possible.
"The only other option would have been to get in the cabin with him, but there was just so much fire and smoke.
He continued: "It wasn't safe to do anything more and I had to think about my own family in that moment as well."
Steve described the other rescuers as "10 out of 10 and true heroes".
"I can only hope the girl is doing okay," he added.
A 54-year-old man, who was driving the car involved in the accident, also died in the crash on April 6.
Steve's boss Oliver North picked him up from the hospital in the aftermath and said his work kit was "completely charred and his face was still covered in soot".
He said: "Steve was coughing and choking, he'd been on oxygen for two hours after the incident. We think he is an absolute hero and a truly unbelievable man.
"The thing is, Steve would never have usually been down that way as he is mainly based in Brighouse."
He added that his firm is building ambulances for Ukraine, and Steve was driving parts down to its Goole factory.
"He is so passionate about saving lives that he wanted to get involved in the project in any way he could, that's just who he is," continued Oliver.
"It is no surprise that he didn't hesitate to run down that slip road and do all he could to help those victims."
Steve is set to return to work on Monday at his own request but has been given a present by his colleagues.
