Uber driver spots passenger's head tilting abnormally during ride. His quick action ended up saving his life
Saving Justin was not something Zvir saw coming, but he says he didn't do anything special.
Saving someone’s life takes not just courage but also patience and presence of mind. For cab drivers, their everyday life on the road comes with its own set of challenges. But some of them not only carry passengers, but a heart full of compassion too. Here's the story of one such driver who went beyond his duty to save the life of a passenger suffering from a brain haemorrhage on February 25.
Philadelphia resident Taras Zvir, a 38-year-old, is an ambitious entrepreneur, working on starting his new company. He drives Uber as a side gig and had picked up a forty-one-year-old passenger named Justin Anderson, who was heading for his job located in Bucks County. During the ride, which lasted for forty-five minutes, Justin and Taras were engaged in casual conversations about music and how Justin, too, had driven for Uber. But what Taras noticed next raised his worry. As Justin's destination was nearing, Taras noticed that Justin's head was tilted and appeared as if he was 'suffocating'. He said, "His head was kind of bobbing up and down, but he was still communicating. I was like, 'Justin, you okay? Do you need anything?' I immediately rolled the windows down, blasted my A/C to try to see if it would make him feel a little better. But he was just getting worse and worse, and eventually he became unresponsive." But what Zvir did next saved Justin's life.
The Uber driver immediately called 911 and described Justin's symptoms to the dispatcher, who advised him to perform CPR on Justin immediately. Luckily, Zvir knew how to perform CPR from his time as a former ambulance driver. He quickly ran around to open the passenger door of the car and carefully laid Justin flat on the ground, making sure his head was protected from the concrete. With no support around, he took charge of the situation and immediately began performing CPR, continuing tirelessly for six to eight minutes. To his relief, Zvir heard the sounds of sirens as he continued to perform the life-saving measure on Justin. He then stopped when the emergency medical services arrived. Zvir revealed that the medical workers were unsure whether Justin was experiencing a drug overdose or another medical emergency, so they administered Narcan and treated him for all possible scenarios.
However, Anderson’s mother, Deborah, revealed on the GoFundMe page that her son has suffered a spontaneous brain haemorrhage. The CT scan conducted after he was admitted to the hospital revealed a large bleed on the right part of his brain. She added that Justin had undergone a craniotomy procedure to relieve the pressure on his brain. Justin was still unconscious but showing signs of improvement. In an update on March 29, Deborah shared that her son was able to blink his eyes twice in response to two questions she asked him. Justin is the father of a 17-year-old girl and had just begun his new job when he suffered a medical emergency. Deborah revealed that Justin was only in the Uber because he was supposed to return home from work in his assigned work van; otherwise, he would have been driving his own car. She also expressed gratitude for the Uber driver, Zvir's, quick response in calling 911.
As for Zvir, he is in touch with Deborah and hopes to see Justin get better. "Definitely want to meet him, and I also just want to make sure that he recovers," Zvir said. Anderson’s mom is hoping to raise money through GoFundMe to pay for her son’s medical bills. Saving Justin was not something Zvir saw coming, but to him, he didn't think what he did was anything special. He said, "I saw somebody needed help and I just helped. That's it." A study authored by Alemshet Aschalew Teshale and Zewdie Aderaw Alemu in 2017 explored how well taxi drivers understood first aid, how willing they were to provide it, and whether they actually applied it when needed. The study revealed that while most drivers showed a positive attitude toward assisting accident victims, many lacked the necessary training and practical experience. However, just as the study noted that only a small fraction had actually provided first aid to accident victims, Uber driver Taras Zvir was among those rare few who did not step back when faced with the chance to save a life.
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