Uber is praising a driver for his quick thinking after he reportedly helped save his passenger from suicide.
According to People, Chad Farley of St. Petersburg, Florida, picked up a passenger in his late 20s on Aug. 7. The passenger told Farley that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer in the past month. Noticing that he had his destination set for the middle of the Skyway Bridge, over Tampa Bay, Farley attempted to talk to the passenger about his diagnosis and his own mother’s fatal fight with cancer and tried to get to get the bridge toll booth operator and her supervisor to intervene.
The passenger told him that his doctor said an ambulance wouldn’t take him all the way to Tampa from his location, but said that he could use the emergency phones to call the ambulance to bring him in. While the toll booth operator disputed this and said she could call him an ambulance herself, the passenger assured Farley that he wasn’t planning on jumping from the bridge.
Despite his suspicions, Farley said he drove the passenger the rest of the way, prayed with him, then took a selfie to “remember him” by. After dropping the passenger off further away from the bridge, however, Farley called the police and emailed them the picture, which they were then able to use to identify the passenger. The man eventually “submerged himself” into the water to evade police, Florida Highway Patron told People, but he was retrieved and given CPR until an ambulance arrived. He’s now in critical but stable condition.
“That was definitely my last passenger for the night. God put that man in my car tonight for a reason. I’m just glad he is still alive,” Farley wrote on Facebook.
“We deeply appreciate Mr. Farley’s quick thinking and compassion for his rider, as well as law enforcement’s fast response,” an Uber spokesperson told People.
Read Farley’s full post below:
https://www.facebook.com/chadfarley1975/posts/10213806785063316
For more information about suicide prevention or to speak with someone confidentially, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (U.S.) or Samaritans (U.K.).
H/T People