Accident survivor reunited with Good Samaritan
Published: March 2, 2006
NEWSCHANNEL 5 helped a young man critically injured in a motorcycle accident find the people who helped him through the ordeal.
Mark Vela remembers the calm voice he heard as he lay critically injured from a motorcycle accident almost three months ago. “I don’t quite remember her face but I remember her voice,” he said.
We found the woman after the story aired on NEWSCHANNEL 5 at 10 on Tuesday. It was Maria Garza. She works in the medical field and was there when the accident happened.
“I just remember I heard a big bang and I knew it was an accident and I looked through my rear view mirror, and sure enough, I saw a flying object and it looked like a body. So, without hesitation the first thing that came to my mind is that I’m CPR certified and I can help if I’m needed,” said Garza. Even though a nurse finally showed up to take care of the medical emergency, it was Maria’s voice that kept Vela calm.
Vela told us, “I’m pretty sure when I hear her I’ll remember that voice.” We reunited them Wednesday morning. Vela’s reaction was exactly what he expected.
Garza told him, “I remember specifically the nurse that was actually looking at your injuries said keep talking to him, make sure he stays alert. So I just kept trying to make some conversation with you.”
Vela said, “I just remember listening to your voice. I know I went unconscious after a while.”
But the story doesn’t end there. Another woman responsible for saving Vela’s life joined the reunion. Darmel Hudson is a registered nurse who took over the medical emergency until help could arrive.
Hudson recalled, “I finally said he’s going to be paralyzed if you don’t keep his head down, you keep his head down, that was you right? Yeah. She kept looking at me with searching eyes.”
She remembers there were several people who helped at the accident. “There were all kinds of people there. There was a guy with a knife who helped cut the curtain, and we cut the curtain up.” The curtain made a tourniquet that helped keep Vela from bleeding to death.
Although Vela heard only one angel’s voice, there were actually many angels working to save his life.
Vela told the two women they are now part of his family. They all say if there is anything people should take away from this story, it’s that helmets save lives.
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: