Passersby do the 'seemingly impossible' and lift truck off man

A man hit by a pickup truck in St. Paul is expected to live after passersby lifted the vehicle off him Monday morning.

St. Paul police say the driver was westbound on Maryland Avenue near Interstate 35E just after 11 a.m. Traffic ahead of him came to a stop, and the pickup swerved off the street, jumped the curb, and skidded toward two men sitting in a landscaped area near the road on their lunch break.

The truck hit and ran over one of them, police spokesman Steve Linders said. He said the victim was trapped under the truck as it slid another 5 yards or so along the turf beside the street.

"If you can imagine, the truck is still on all four wheels, and the victim is pinned underneath, between the truck and the ground," said Linders. "But thankfully, other motorists stopped, jumped out of their vehicle and ran to the victim's aid. About 15 of them were able to do what is seemingly impossible, which is lift a vehicle, a full-sized pickup truck, off of the victim and slide him to safety."

The truck was left tipped on its side as paramedics arrived.

"It was an impressive display of power and also care for another person," Linders said.

Linders said the man was taken to Regions Hospital. He'd apparently suffered some broken ribs, but is expected to recover. The truck's driver was not injured and was cited for careless driving. Police do not believe drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.

Linders said the passersby were gone soon after police arrived. "They did their good deed and went on with their day."