BILLERICA (CBS) – A Billerica man is counting his blessings after a close call in Hurricane Sandy Monday. He thought he was heading for safety in the storm when a tree fell on his truck in Wilmington.

A man is alive after a tree fell on his truck during Hurricane Sandy.

“I looked up and there it came. I didn’t have time to do anything,” says Jim Bielski. “It happened so fast, I heard, just this giant bang and just kind of said some foul language as it was falling down and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

His truck was smashed.

“My whole truck exploded inside, glass in my mouth, it was embedded, all in my face,” he says.

With Hurricane Sandy approaching, Jim’s boss had sent him home early, so he’d be safe. But a gust of wind changed that equation, knocking down a massive pine tree and pulling down power lines right onto his truck.

“The live wires were sparking in my face because it blew the windows out, so the sparks were coming in,” says Jim.

His leg was pinned beneath the crumpled dash, but he managed to wiggle free with the help of the Wilmington Fire Department.

“When they pulled me out of the car they looked at me and said ‘you’re one lucky S-O-B.’”