When Pell City’s Tim Neely heard those words, he said it scared him to death, but knew he had to do something.
Neely and his stepfather, Herman Krack, were traveling west on Interstate 20 Monday morning. The two were headed to work in Trussville. Between the Eden and Chula Vista exit, Neely noticed a vehicle off the interstate, down in a ravine.
“I told my dad we needed to turn around and go back,” Neely said.
The Good Samaritans turned around, went to the Eden exit, and got back on I-20 headed west. Krack pulled the car over where Neely, 29, spotted the vehicle.
Neely ran down to the vehicle, which he said was a red SUV, but found no one in the car.
“I hollered at my dad, and that’s when I heard someone cry for help,” Neely said. “When I heard the lady ask for help, I hollered back at her and told her to keep hollering so I could find her.
“I found her lying in a ditch, sort of covered up in weeds. She was not visible. I yelled at my dad and told him to call 911. She kept asking me not to let her die. She held my hand.”
Neely said he was not expecting to find anyone in the ravine.
“There was a little dirt and blood on her,” Neely said. “She was wearing a tank-top and blue jeans, and had no shoes on. She had dark brown hair and looked to be between 35 to 40 years old. Her mouth was chapped bad.
“I believe she had been lying there between 24 to 36 hours. You could tell she had been lying in that spot for a while. Once they moved her, you could tell she had lacerations to her back and arm.”
Neely said an ambulance came and transported the lady to St. Vincent’s St. Clair in Pell City. From there, she was airlifted to University Hospital in Birmingham.
Neely and Krack work at Print Smart in Trussville.
Neely does not know the name of the woman, and does not remember seeing the license plate on the vehicle.
“She was a white lady, and she was petrified,” he said.
Because the identity of the woman is not known, her condition was not known at press time.
Contact Gary Hanner at ghanner@thestclairtimes.com.
