Former East Liverpool Mayor John Payne was traveling on Route 39 in East Liverpool Wednesday night when, he said, a rockslide came crashing down on his pickup truck.

"I'm driving down the road, and I saw one rock move in front of me. Then, 'clunk' and everything just stopped, and then I'm looking around and the dashboard is wrapped around me and the windows are gone. And I thought, 'Well, they're never going to be able to fix this car again.' So I had the presence of mind to shut the ignition off, and I just sat there," said Payne.

Payne said within minutes, good Samaritans were by his side to help.

"I'm humbled that there were people there right away. Especially with the blessing of technology, cell phones were flashing everywhere. I could see flash bulbs while I was sitting in the car waiting on the ambulance," Payne said.

Emergency crews were on scene quickly to pull Payne from the wreckage, and he says he is just thankful his wife was not with him.

"She would not have madeit. Judging by what I saw in the pictures, the rocks would have just smashed the side, so I count my blessings," Payne said.

As for Payne's truck, it is likely a total loss.

"It's gone. The frame is bent. The wheels are bent. The hood, I mean, everything is just gone. You might be able to save the tail lights. That's about the only thing they can salvage from it," said Payne.

Now, going forward, Payne said he will always keep one eye on the hillside.

"I'm sure that I will. I'll keep a lookout for rocks; because we have friends down in the Steubenville area, and we drive through Toronto and all that," said Payne.