Injured Dad Tells Son to Save Himself After Car They Were Fixing Explodes: 'Leave Me, Just Get Out'

“They are alive and that’s all that matters right now,” said a family member

A father and son in Oregon are very fortunate to be alive after being seriously injured when a car they were working on exploded.

In an interview with Fox affiliate KPTV, Marsay Garner said her father Darrell Tucker and her brother Reese Tucker, a mechanic, were working on a Chevrolet Nova in Yamhill on May 9 when they later discovered a fuel leak before an explosion.

Garner said that Reese was caught in flames and ran out of the shop first. But then he realized his dad Darrell was lying on the ground near the car — “so he patted himself out and ran back in.”

Garner wrote in a GoFundMe fundraiser that Darrell, who had already been recovering from a previous surgery, broke his leg and received burns as he tried to get away from the flames.

Related: 3 Dead, 1 Injured After Explosion at Ohio Auto Shop: 'It Was Pandemonium'

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

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Reese was able to extinguish himself and his dad, Garner later wrote in the fundraiser, which will pay for father and son’s medical bills and lost wages. Reese was airlifted to a local trauma center while the elder was taken for treatment by ambulance.

In an update on GoFundMe on May 15, Garner shared that Darrell was transferred from his hospital room to the burn unit to be with Reese. It is uncertain when both men will return home.

Related: Woman Dies After Fiery Car Crash That Caused Fireworks in Trunk to Go Off: 'Catastrophic Scene'

Garner told KPTV that she found out what happened to her father and brother via her sister. “They are alive and that’s all that matters right now,” she said.

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Meanwhile, Reese has been sharing updates about himself and his father in the hospital on Instagram. In a May 14 post, he wrote that his father “has been moved down the hall from me, so now we can eat meals together. ❤️😍.”

Related: Woman Saved from Car Moments Before It 'Became Engulfed in Flames' After Crashing Through Fence

In a May 15 post, Reese was filmed strutting through the hospital hallway in his gown with Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine” playing in the clip.

“We out here staying positive and spreading joy,” Reese captioned in his post. “Mind over matter is all it takes. Thank guy you for all the support."

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