JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A local Jacksonville family is expressing their gratitude Tuesday night for a man they call a hero.
Brandon Taylor is still recovering after a car accident on Christmas Eve. Taylor said he would be dead right now if it weren’t for the brave actions of a stranger.
Taylor said he was going out to pick up milk for his child when he found himself in a potentially deadly situation. He said that's when his guardian angel stepped in and saved him.
John Myers was on his way down Cassat Avenue to pick up a customer in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve. It was a normal day for the yellow cab driver until he came across an accident.
He saw a car in flames and inside was the father of four, Brandon Taylor.
“I pull him from the car as the car is on fire. I pull him from the car, he fell down to the ground, as I’m pulling him, money and everything is falling out of his pocket and everything. He's like, 'Don't forget my money, don't forget my money' and I said, 'Okay, we won't worry about your money right now,’” said Myers.
Without thinking, Myers said he stopped his car and jumped into action and pulled Taylor from the driver's seat.
“He got so heavy for me to pull, I’m like, 'Just roll.' I said, 'Just roll, just roll away from the car, just roll away from the car,' you know, and as he's doing that, the car engulfs in flames. I mean, I’m talking about the front and the back seat, gone," Myers said.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, Taylor was traveling down Cassat Avenue and ran into the back of a parked semi-truck. FHP said Taylor was distracted by his cellphone.
Taylor spoke to News4Jax over the phone Tuesday from his hospital bed at UF Health. He said there's no question that Myers saved his life.
Taylor said his phone fell between the seats and he was trying to grab it-- that’s when he hit the semi.
“I was yelling at the top of my lungs. About four or five cars passed me. No one stopped but this one guy in a taxi cab. He wouldn't leave me for nothing. He stayed there with me through everything. He just was like my guardian angel, he was just there. Not even a minute later, the car caught fire,” said Taylor.
Taylor said he hopes to repay him in any way he can.
“I told him I’m going to go to the bank and get a couple hundred dollars out of the bank for him, because that's just petty to me for what he's done. He saved my life. I could've been taken away from my kids and he was there for me,” Taylor said.
But Myers said it's not about the money or being hailed a hero. It's about doing the right thing.
“I don't really feel like a hero, as his family is calling me. I don't really feel that way. I feel that I was helping another human being,” said Myers.
Taylor said his leg is broken in two places but is expected to make a full recovery.
And Myers said he just hopes others in a similar situation would do the same thing.