DRIVER

‘Very Lucky,' Wife Says of Man Severely Injured in Fiery Brentwood, NH, Crash

Joe Doherty survived the fiery wreck on Route 125 and has undergone one surgery already

A horrific car crash in New Hampshire was recently caught on surveillance video and now the family of the driver is speaking out.

The driver's wife, Donna Doherty, admits her husband being "very lucky" is an understatement.

"It's a miracle it really is," she said during an interview at her Raymond home on Tuesday.

Her husband, Joe, survived the fiery wreck on Route 125 in Brentwood Friday morning.

"He was literally able to crawl out of the passenger door and took a couple steps and then collapsed to the ground," she explained.

Surveillance cameras show Doherty's red truck stopped in the southbound lane as he waited to take a left-hand turn.

The heart-stopping moment of impact is hard for his wife to watch.

"Yes, very hard," she said. "But then I just keep thinking of all the people that were there that I don't know. I don't even know their names."

Chris Michel was one of of those people.

"We heard one loud bang and everyone started running out of the office outside," Michel said.

Michel and his coworkers at Stratham Tire rushed to help. They pulled the driver away from the inferno and stayed with him until paramedics arrived.

"It was just awful seeing that happen," Michel said.

Doherty is still at Massachusetts General Hospital with several face fractures.

He's undergone one 10-hour surgery and will need another before he gets to go home.

"He is a tough guy," Donna Doherty said chuckling. "And he has the kindest heart, you can ask anybody."

She says surviving a scene like this is proof good things do happen to good people.

"He had a lot of angels with him that day, a lot," she added.

As for the driver who caused the crash, she's been cited for following too closely.

Brentwood Police told NBC10 Boston there could be more charges since the investigation is not yet complete.

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