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A 295-pound guardian angel. That's what a Tampa, Fla., family found last February when a tow-truck accident nearly took the life of a father of four.
University of South Florida offensive lineman Danous Estenor (6-3, 295) pulled into a restaurant near campus when he heard a woman screaming for help, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
The newspaper describes the incident this way:
Tow truck driver Pedro Arzola, 34, was pinned under the right front tire of a 1990 Cadillac Seville after the car had lurched forward, running over Arzola's torso, dragging him about 10 feet.
Maria Uribe was sleeping in the cab of her husband's truck when she heard Arzola yelling. It was "like a horror movie ... a lot of blood," she told the Times.
Uribe and two men were trying to lift the car when Estenor came to the rescue.
"I just see his legs," said Estenor, 21, the son of immigrants from Haiti. "The car is crushing him. He's not moving. I'm thinking, 'Oh, God, this guy is going to die.'
"I tried to lift the car, and when I first tried, it didn't budge. I backed up. I don't know. But I felt this energy come, and I lifted it. I don't know how, but somebody pulled him from the car."
Miraculously, Arzola suffered a dislocated shoulder and other minor injuries but returned to work two weeks later.
"I said, 'God, bring an angel to my side, help me,' " Uribe told the Times. "In Spanish, we say, 'milagro' (miracle). I appreciate (Estenor) doing what he did, saving my husband's life. If nobody helps me, I don't know if he is in the room right now."
Said Estenor, who was shaking after the incident: "The shock of doing that, it's not an everyday thing you do."
Not long after Estenor's heroics, USF Coach Skip Holtz read a letter from the manager of the Bulls Den Café in front of the team.
"I wanted to let you know that Danous is a real hero," the letter read. "I know in my heart that without Danous there, the driver may not have survived the night. His quick thinking, willingness to help and strength saved that man's life."
Holtz told the Times last week: "What a phenomenal story. Not all of us can lift a car. I'd be over there going (strains, laughing), 'Um, call the ambulance.' And Danous just walked away? I can totally see that. Just humble, quiet, keeps to himself."
Estenor is described as one of the strongest players on the Bulls' roster. He is expected to compete for a starting spot next fall as a redshirt junior.
"Ever since Coach Holtz read the letter, they all say, 'Oh, where's your cape?' " said Estenor, an organizational communications major at USF. "It's not bad. They're just making fun, but I'm glad (Holtz) let them know what happened. I always feel good when I do a good deed, to help somebody any kind of way. Small or big, as long as I can make a difference, I feel good about it."
The car is owned by Chris Merrick, a cook at the Bulls Den, and Marcus Baker, who works as a dishwasher. They were the two men trying to lift the Cadillac off Arzola when Estenor arrived, the report said.
"I don't think we would have gotten (the car) up if it wasn't for him," Baker told the Times. "It's like it was meant to happen. I still remember him. Every time I see him, I'm like, 'How did you pick up a car?' "
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