‘Leave me, just get out’: Son helps father escape fire after car they were fixing explodes

YAMHILL Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) - A father and son in Oregon are recovering after they caught on fire while fixing a car last Thursday evening.

The family says they have been in survival mode since the incident.

“They are alive and that’s all that matters right now,” family member Marsay Garner said. “She [my sister] called and said there was an accident, a fire, an explosion at mom and dad’s.”

Garner’s father Darrell Tucker and her brother Reese Tucker were fixing an old Chevrolet Nova - a common sight on their property in Yamhill – when it suddenly caught fire.

Reese Tucker is a mechanic, and Garner said the family has enjoyed working on anything with a motor for generations.

But this time there was a fuel leak they discovered too late.

“When he turned the key off it wouldn’t shut off. That sparked, and ignited … then an explosion,” Garner said.

According to Garner, the motor wouldn’t turn off and her brother had pulled out the distributor cap.

“I think he realized he was on fire, so he ran out of the shop first, then he realized that dad was lying on the ground, next to the car, so he patted himself out and ran back in,” she said.

Reese Tucker’s father couldn’t move. Garner said he already had a boot on one leg from a recent surgery and ended up breaking his other leg trying to escape the flames.

“Dad just kept telling him to go, ‘leave me, just get out.’ Obviously, he [Reese Tucker] was not going to just leave his dad there,” Garner said. “Dad told him after the fact, ‘I told you to go because I was just watching the skin melt off of you.’”

Reese Tucker was airlifted to the nearest burn unit and his father joined him Tuesday after another surgery on his broken leg.

Through it all, Garner said the father, son duo has remained their normal, happy selves.

Darrell Tucker may come home later this week, while Reese Tucker will have a few more weeks in the hospital.

One thing they do know: they aren’t giving up on the Chevy.

“They are already talking about rebuilding and how to fix it,” Garner said.

The family has started a GoFundMe to help cover medical bills and lost wages.

Reese Tucker has also been documenting their experience on Instagram.

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