As Mike Kelly continues his recovery at the Foothills Medical Centre after shattering his legs, an ankle and his jaw in a crash outside Brooks, his thoughts focus on the actions of two men who came to his rescue in the frigid conditions.

On the morning of Saturday, December 30, Kelly, a part-time truck driver, was driving eastbound in a 5-ton truck on the Trans-Canada Highway on his way to Medicine Hat. Disaster struck approximately 20 kilometres east of the City of Brooks when he encountered a stationary transport vehicle in the fast lane.

“All of a sudden, there’s a tractor trailer in front of me and it’s not moving,” recalled Kelly. “I hit him, spun into the ditch.”

“The steering wheel and foot pedals came back and pinned my legs.”

The 52-year-old says he retained consciousness throughout the ordeal but was left to support his own body weight as he was positioned awkwardly within the toppled rig. Snow and the frigid wind of the minus 30 degree Celsius day entered the cab of the truck as blood poured from the injured man. “You don’t know how much you have lost, how much you have left.”

A man approached the truck and tried to open the driver’s side door but the damage prevented it from opening.

“He tried the passenger side and saw that I was alive and awake and told someone to call 911 and to get him some blankets. He climbed in, sat on the dash, wrapped me in blankets (and) stopped the bleeding,” Kelly said while gesturing to a wound near his left eye. “He leaned against me and he used his body to support me because I couldn’t.”

Kelly says a second man appeared with more blankets and climbed into the cab. The men placed Kelly’s toque on his head and his gloves on his hands and the two supported the weight of the injured truck driver. The Good Samaritans stayed with Kelly, asking him questions to keep him alert, for an undetermined amount of time before emergency crews arrived.

The injured man was transported by ambulance from the crash scene to the Brooks Health centre where he was stabilized and transferred by ground ambulance to the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary. Kelly says he is in constant pain and will remain in hospital for the foreseeable future as he recovers from his numerous injuries.

Kelly doesn’t recall much about the two men who came to his rescue but he’s hoping they’ll identify themselves. “Thank you,” said Kelly. “I want to say it in person.”

Kelly says the ordeal of December 30 is something that will stick with him and his rescuers for some time. “It’s something you’ll never forget.”

He says he doesn't remember their names but one of the men was returning to the Shuswap or Okanagan regions of British Columbia.

Anyone who knows the identity of either of the men who helped Kelly is encouraged to contact CTV Calgary and the information will be shared with the injured truck driver.

With files from CTV’s Kathy Le