Good Samaritan Injured While Trying To Help Driver
GRAND PRAIRIE (CBSDFW.COM) - Police are looking for the driver of a newer model gray Ford F-150 in connection with an aggravated assault.
Family members say the victim was simply trying to do the right thing.
Brandi and John Woods were part of large caravan of family members heading home on southbound 360 Friday night, when they spotted a driver going the wrong way. The driver was heading north in the southbound lanes.
"The entire flow of traffic stopped so that this gentleman could turn around," Brandi Woods said. "He's swerving and getting and out of cars and again, speeding and it was very apparent that he was intoxicated."
The driver pulled up next to them at a red light at 360 and Ragland Rd. He had his window open.
"He was slumped over completely, chin to chest and hands not even on the wheel," Brandi Woods said.
That's when, she says, her husband, John, jumped into action. Woods was going to try to grab the driver's keys from his truck, in hopes of preventing a crash.
"He goes around and reaches in the guy's car and that gentleman wakes up and just floors it," Brandi Woods.
With half of his body hanging out of the truck, John Woods had no choice but to hold on for his life. Letting go would mean risking getting run over.
Brandi Woods watched it all unfold before her eyes.
"My husband has control of the wheel, so he instinctively pulls it as far as he can toward the median and then he releases himself from the vehicle in the grass," Brandi Woods said.
The driver swerved several times before straightening out and speeding off, southbound on 360.
Meanwhile, dozens of witnesses pulled over to search for Woods in the field where he'd landed.
The field had high brush so it was difficult to see, especially in the darkness.
When they found him, after several minutes, John Woods was unconcious.
"Luckily, there were some nurses on the scene and we got his vitals and made sure he was okay. There were so many people there that helped and we couldn't have done it without them," Brandi Woods said.
Now Grand Prairie Police are searching for the driver, who witnesses said was driving a gray newer model Ford F-150.
Woods broke a vertebrae and several ribs, suffered a punctured lung and swelling of his brain, but he is now stable at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.
Brandi Woods said a higher poiwer kept her husband alive. Now she's hoping someone will come forward with information about the driver.
"There needs to be some justice," she said.
Once the driver is caught, he'll face a charge of aggravated assault, according to Det. Lyle Gensler, spokesperson with Grand Prairie Police.
If you witnessed the incident or have any information on the vehicle or driver, call Grand Prairie Police.
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