Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Staff Writer

ONTARIO - Black smoke and flames burst from a crash involving three tractor-trailers on Wednesday, leaving one man dead and two others injured.
Motorists jumped out of their cars and workers in surrounding industrial buildings came running with fire extinguishers to the scene at Milliken Avenue and Mission Boulevard.
Photo Gallery: Ontario Semi Collision Watch New Video:04/27: Deadly tractor trailer crash
"Everything was on fire and there was gas all over the place," said Christopher Lee, a Monterey Park courier who saw the crash.

Witnesses told police that the crash involved a driver heading east on Mission, a driver heading south on Milliken and a driver who was stopped at a red light facing north on Milliken.
The driver heading south and the driver heading east collided. It was unclear who had the green light to enter the intersection, police said. Then the driver heading south on Milliken slid down an embankment and his tractor burst into flames, but he crawled out of the cab before suffering any serious burns. The man driving east in a blue tractor-trailer suffered grave injuries and witnesses saw paramedics performing CPR on him before he was taken away. The driver, a Calexico resident whose name was not released because his relatives hadn't been notified as of last evening, was pronounced dead at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, said Ontario police Cpl. Jeff Crittenden.

A third big-rig driver suffered moderate injuries and was hospitalized, Riverside County firefighters said. His truck was struck after the initial collision.
About 25 firefighters from Riverside County and Ontario came to the scene about 12:40 p.m. and extinguished the blaze, fire spokesman Patrick Chandler said.
But before emergency personnel arrived, several witnesses tried to do what they could to help the crash victims.

Andy Cervantes, a worker at nearby Diamond Wipes, got curious when he heard the noise outside. "I hear loud bangs from trains passing by, but this one sounded different," Cervantes said. "I just stuck my head out to see what was going on and Milliken was on fire."
Lee heard the crash and ran over to the man in the blue tractor-trailer. He said the cab door was jammed, so he grabbed a rock and broke the window. He still couldn't get the man out. Rancho Cucamonga resident Jose Galarza got out of his car and also ran up to the blue rig to help. But witnesses caught in the chaos backed off after explosions came from the burning tractor.

"The trees caught on fire and the tires were exploding," Galarza said.
Witnesses were especially concerned initially because they thought a man was still inside the burning tractor-trailer.

"I ran across the street and we had fire extinguishers, there was a guy inside and then there was an explosion," said Francisco Barba, a Fontana resident. Barba was relieved when he realized the big-rig driver had actually made it outside the cab. He didn't appear to have suffered any serious injuries, he said. "His eyebrows were burned off and his hair was singed," Barba said.

Photos located in the Battalion Photo Gallery.

Melissa Pinion-Whitt can be reached by e-mail at m_pinion-whitt@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9378.