MOUNT PLEASANT - A woman pulled from her car Tuesday morning after colliding with a dump truck and being engulfed in flames is expected to recover from her injuries.

Mount Pleasant rescue workers transported Theresa Mrnik, 25, of Kenosha, to Wheaton Franciscan-All Saints hospital, 3801 Spring St. She was in surgery Tuesday afternoon, said officials who could not confirm her condition.

Theresa's mother, Susan, said doctors told her Theresa suffered a fractured neck but should be able to recover.

The driver of the dump truck, 46-year-old Brent McGee of Whitewater, was issued a citation for violating a traffic signal and operating too fast for conditions. The dump truck was loaded with 72,000 pounds of gravel and is owned by David Schlarb of Muskego.

Tom Smith was driving to work at Merit Models, 1833 Oakdale Ave., when he saw the crash at the intersection of Highway 31 and 16th Street just before 7 a.m., he said.

"It all happened so fast," said Smith, who pulled Theresa out of her car. "Immediately it went up in flames. It was like a movie. It started burning instantly."

Smith jumped out of his vehicle, ran over to her car and lifted her out, he said. She was the lone occupant in the car and at that point was passed out, he said. Two other people immediately joined him and helped pull her feet out of the car. Other witnesses also rushed over to try to comfort Mrnik and offer support, Smith said.

"Everyone was helping out. It was a whole big group thing," said Smith, who didn't want to take credit for saving the woman.

"It's not a big deal. It's like, if it wouldn't have been me, it would have been someone else."

Both vehicles were towed from the scene. The crash is still under investigation.