Hero Uber driver praised for saving passenger's life as he suffered freak medical emergency
A heroic Pennsylvania Uber driver has saved the life of a passenger after he started suffering with a brain hemorrhage in his car.
Taras Zvir, 38, picked up Justin Anderson, 41, on the morning of February 25 in Philadelphia to take him to work in Bucks County.
The ride initially went smoothly as the two men sparked up a conversation during the 45-minute drive, Zvir recalled.
'We just started talking about music and stuff. And he mentioned that he [drove for] Uber as well. So we were just talking about that for a little bit,' Zvir, of Northern Lights, told People.
Suddenly, toward the end of the trip, Zvir noticed a drastic change in his passenger's behavior, adding that it appeared he was 'suffocating.'
'His head was kind of bobbing up and down but he was still communicating,' he recalled.
'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.'
The quick-thinking driver then pulled over on the side of the road and called 911 to report Justin's symptoms before starting CPR on him.
Officials told him he needed to perform CPR on Anderson as soon as possible, and thankfully Zvir knew just what to do from his former job as an ambulance driver.
'I ran around the car,' Zvir said. 'I opened the door, placed him flat, made sure that his head wasn't hitting the concrete because he didn't have any support or anything.
'So once I placed him flat, I just started doing CPR and was doing it for maybe six to eight minutes.'
Soon enough, he heard emergency sirens nearby as he continued to try and save Justin's life.
Once paramedics arrived they took over life-saving measures 'immediately,' Zvir said.
'They did Narcan. They weren't sure if it was a drug overdose or medical emergency, so I guess they had to cover everything,' the driver continued.
Anderson's mother, Deborah Anderson, later created a GoFundMe page for his son, revealing he 'suffered a spontaneous brain hemorrhage' while on his way to his second day at a new job.
'The quick-thinking driver pulled over and called 911. Justin was rushed by ambulance to the emergency room, and after a CT scan, a large bleed on the right side of his brain was discovered,' Deborah said.
Her son was then rushed into emergency surgery where he underwent a craniotomy, or removal of part of the skull, to release blood and in turn relieve pressure on his brain, she said.
An endovascular embolization - when a catheter is inserted through a leg artery and brought up to the brain to treat the bleed - was then performed on Justin. She said it was hard for doctors to determine where the source of the bleed was coming from.
Justin was later diagnosed with subdural hematoma, or a brain bleed, that was brought on by an AV fistula - an abnormal connection between a vein and artery.
Deborah also discovered her child was likely born with this condition but he didn't know he had it.
Justin, the father of a 17-year-old daughter, has continued to show improvement since the terrifying incident occurred.
In a post from May 4, his mother wrote: 'Justin continues to show improvement. He now can wiggle his toes on his left foot when asked to. He can also slightly move a couple toes on his right foot. When asked, he is able to squeeze my hand with his left hand significantly more than he was able to previously.'
She said medical staff have also 'been weaning him off the ventilator.'
'Had he been home alone, he would not be here today. Had he not been in the back of that Uber, he would not be here today. He was only in the Uber because he was supposed to come back home from work with his assigned work van,' she noted, speaking of her gratitude for how her son was saved.
'Otherwise, he would have been driving his own car. I am also thankful for the Uber driver's quick response to call 911.'
Since it happened, Zvir said he has been in contact with Deborah and hopes that he can meet him soon.
'I definitely want to meet him. And I also, I just want to make sure that he recovers. I actually texted his mother yesterday just to get an update on him. So I'm keeping in touch with his family and hopefully he pulls through,' he told the outlet.
As of Sunday morning, more than $16,700 was raised to help Justin's family during this challenging time.
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