SOPHIA, W.Va. — A West Virginia man sprang into action last week to save an 83-year-old woman who was trapped beneath the wheel of a vehicle in a U.S. Post Office parking lot.
Phyllis Hylton stepped out of her car at the Sophia Post Office to look for her phone when the vehicle began to roll backward, WVVA-TV reported. Hylton was trapped under the front wheel of the vehicle, her son, Randy Hunt, told the television station.
“The front wheel ended up on top of her back,” Hunt told WVVA.
James Ellison was walking out of the post office when he saw that Hylton was unconscious.
“I was coming out and heard a woman and it went quiet,” Ellison told the television station.
Ellison reacted swiftly, jumping into the vehicle, putting it into gear and driving it away from the woman.
Ellison said he was assisted by Sophia firefighter Chuck Lilly and others, who rendered aid to Hylton. The woman suffered a few cracked ribs and bruised lungs but is expected to recover, WVVA reported.
Hylton thanked those who helped her when she spoke to reporters on Thursday. Ellison said he was glad he was there to help.
“Somebody put me there for a reason,” Ellison told WVVA. “Somebody put me there, at the right time, at the right moment.”
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