A man braved four lanes of traffic to save the life of a stranger - East Idaho News
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A man braved four lanes of traffic to save the life of a stranger

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Odis Banks was on his way to pay a bill when his day had a sudden turn of events. After waiting for five minutes in a turning lane to turn into the parking lot, he heard honking, and yelling from several drivers to “Get out the way.” The horns and comments were directed toward a white truck that was stopped in the middle of traffic.

Like other drivers, Banks was a little irritated; but he looked at the man inside the truck and realized he wasn’t moving.

After parking his car in the lot, Banks stopped four lanes of traffic in order to get to the man in the truck. Once there, he saw the man’s eyes were open, he was drenched in sweat and was unresponsive to all Banks’ questions.

After asking permission to unlock the door and getting no response, Banks reached through the open window and attempted to pull the man from the car. As he did, the man’s foot lifted from the brake, so Banks punched the brake with his fist as he reached over the man to put the truck in park.

Pulling him from the car, Banks walked through the four lanes of traffic to carry the man to safety, putting his own life in danger. Impatient drivers were zipping around him until other drivers recognized what was happening and stopped traffic for him.

Once he made it to the side of the street, he laid the man down and braved traffic once again to move the truck out of the street and into the parking lot.

Banks laid the man in the back of his truck. He then began having a seizure, coughing and spitting up blood. Luckily, three nurses stopped and were there to help Banks move the man to his side as he started to convulse.

When the paramedics reached the scene, they determined that the man was in a diabetic coma, had suffered a mild stroke, and that if Banks hadn’t reacted, he would have likely died.

This situation could have been so different, had Banks reacted like every other driver on the road that day, and impatiently moved around the truck. But instead, he paid attention.

Banks’ story reminds us of the need to slow down and pay attention. Things aren’t always what they appear to be. We’re on this earth to show kindness and to spread goodness. Rather than feeling frustration over a situation, we should realize there are reasons it is happening in the first place. Rather than ignoring someone in need, we can ask ourselves if there is something we can do to help.

Tiffany Fletcher, author of “Mother Had a Secret: Learning to Love my Mother and her Multiple Personalities” http://motherhadasecret.blogspot.com/

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