Zach Miller is on the U.S. Para Snowboard Team. He’s a two-time world champion, who also won the 2023 Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY award and competed in the 2022 Beijing Paralympics.
While riding his motorcycle through Parleys Canyon on his way to training in Park City on Aug. 10, he saw smoke billowing out from underneath a white Ford F-150 truck. As Miller got closer, he realized a fire was burning in the engine bay.
“That was when I realized, OK, this is an emergency situation," Miller said. "So I just immediately started waving to get his attention.”
The truck driver initially seemed confused, but luckily responded to Miller’s frantic waves to pull over. Once on the side of the interstate, Miller yelled to the man that the truck was on fire.
Miller asked the driver if he had a fire extinguisher; he did not. Thinking fast, the pair instead used water bottles to put out the fire.
“Time was really the deciding factor there," Miller said. "I think, had he kept driving, that situation would have gotten much worse. So I'm really glad that it didn't end up becoming something that involved multiple people that could have potentially set, you know, Parleys Canyon on fire again.”
Miller later shared the experience on Instagram and the post went viral with millions of views. The truck driver commented on the video, saying he got home safely and then took the truck to a mechanic.
