Truck driver survives hit from flying metal on I-95 thanks to good Samaritan
When Steve Medina sees the hole in the windshield of his truck, he feels very lucky to be lying in a hospital bed at WakeMed Health and Hospitals alive, he said Tuesday.
“Something came crashing through the windshield and hit me in the chest and the neck,” he said. “I was dazed by it. I really didn't understand what had happened. I just knew I was in a lot of pain at the moment.”
A steel strap winch fell off a truck on Interstate 95 on Monday night near Selma and crashed into the cab of Medina's truck, hitting the steering wheel and then him.
“I was having a tremendous amount of trouble breathing,” Medina said.
He managed to pull the truck over, but he couldn't find his phone. He was bleeding and scared, he said. And he used a flashlight to signal for help.
Donnie Taylor saw him.
“I ran to the man,” Taylor said. “He was kind of stumbling, trying to get up. I said, ‘Hey, I’m here,’ I told him who I was, I was here to help.”
Taylor, who works for the state Department of Transportation, was on his way home from a football game with his kids.
Medina said that before Taylor arrived, he feared passing out and bleeding to death before anyone would find him.
“The Lord puts me where I'm supposed to be,” Taylor said. “I really was worried. I felt like what I was doing was going to make a difference if he lived or died. Nobody else looked like they were going to stop."
Medina is recovering and plans to head home as soon as possible to be reunited with his family.
“Thank God for Donnie,” Medina said. “He stopped and immediately made me feel a lot better. Good man.”
Taylor called the situation a blessing.
“It really is,” he said. “I’m really glad he’s going to be OK.”
