Highway heroes: Man searching for couple who helped save his life when medical episode ended in I-80 crash
SACRAMENTO -- Over the weekend, one local man says his life was saved by good Samaritans who dropped everything to help him when his car flew off of Interstate 80.
The California Highway Patrol reports it happened in West Sacramento at the Reed Avenue exit from I-80 westbound.
Tim Griffith is now searching for his highway heroes, wanting to thank them face-to-face.
"From what the tow truck driver said, he had extracted a number of fatalities from the very same place when people had hit trees when they went off the road. I missed them all. I was very blessed," said Griffith.
Griffith began to panic as he was driving alone to the Bay Area on a work call Saturday morning, thinking he was having a heart attack or a stroke.
"I knew I was in trouble. I was in the fast lane and I started to work my way over to the slow lane and passed out," said Griffith.
He drove his car at a high speed from the interstate and crashed off of the exit ramp, all the while going in and out of consciousness. Griffith found help in the faces of strangers: his highway angels.
"That is a miracle. That is a blessing," said Griffith. "I don't think I would have survived."
He says a young man and woman stopped. They left their car and ran down the embankment after him.
They knew exactly what to do. They didn't remove Griffith from the car but instead got right to work doing what they could.
"They kept talking and worked to keep me awake because I was not doing well," said Griffith.
Calm under pressure, they called 911 and took care of everything until paramedics got there.
They retrieved Griffith's wallet and ID to provide to the paramedics. They even went into his cell phone and called his emergency contacts so his family would know what was happening.
"I felt like I was going to be OK. When I really didn't think I was going to be OK, they helped me," said Griffith. "It means the world. I think it's become more of a rarity today."
Griffith now knows a rare nerve impingement in his neck is what caused him to black out.
He left the hospital Saturday with a few broken ribs. He said he is grateful to be alive, hugging his 18 grandbabies extra tight and with a new perspective.
"It's the fact of how fragile life is and how quickly it can be taken away and how precious you need to treat it," said Griffith.
He doesn't have a clue who the couple who saved him is and wants to change that. His hope now is to find his highway heroes.
"What would you want to tell them face to face?" asked CBS13 reporter Ashley Sharp.
"Thank you. Thank you for stopping," said Griffith.
Anyone who knows how to get Griffith in contact with the couple can send an email to ashley.sharp@paramount.com or call the CBS13 newsroom at (916) 374-1301.
