San Antonio – Neighbors living in a West Side neighborhood are hoping their heroic actions inspire others to always be willing to help people in times of need. This comes after a major crash resulted in a car trapping a woman underneath it on Super Bowl Sunday.
“The woman was coming fast,” one neighbor who asked to remain anonymous said. “She wanted to make a U-turn while she was going fast and that was when the car started spinning and spinning and spinning.”
San Antonio police say the car ultimately rolled over and slid into a pole on its side on West Martin Street. Fabian Jalomo was eating with his friends when they heard the collision.
“Everything happened very quickly,” Jalomo said. “We ran outside because we thought it impacted the house. That’s how close it sounded.”
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He said they saw the car on its side and he immediately called 911.
“We didn’t know how many people were inside or what their injuries were because it was so dark,” Jalomo said.
They said the impact of the car into the pole was so strong, the streetlight was knocked out.
“I had my cell phone and while I was on the call, I turned on my flashlight and that is when we realized that this woman is under the vehicle,” Jalomo said. “Instinctively, we just decided to get the car off of her to make sure, if there is going to be a chance, we are going to take that chance.”
Together, Jalomo, his friends and his next-door neighbors pushed the car right-side up again.
“Even though we might have been complete strangers, we knew it was the right thing to do and her life for us was just priority,” Jalomo said. “So, there are six or seven of us, and we get the car up and she collapsed out of it. She was in pain and we were just trying to calm her down while we waited for the ambulance and EMS to arrive.”
He said the biggest takeaway is the importance of helping others, no matter what.
“It is so easy to have differences with people but when something like that happens,” Jalomo said. “When somebody’s life is put in danger, when somebody is in need of help, everything disappears and at that moment, you have to focus on doing what is right and doing what you would like others to do if you were in need of help.”
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Jalomo said this incident has impacted his life greatly.
“It is an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life,” Jalomo said. "I know that if we all can just come together, we can get things done and that is a message I am going to carry on to my kids, people, family and more. That is what I want them to know.”
Neighbors said this was not the first time speeding became an issue in their neighborhood.
“They are always speeding,” said one neighbor. “They are always racing. To me, I think we need speed bumps here.”
The neighbor went on to say that while she is praying for the woman’s recovery, she hopes people will be more careful.
“There is no reason to rush to anything,” the neighbor said. “It is better for you to get there late than not ever get there at all.”
At last check, the woman is still in the hospital recovering from life-threatening injuries.