A truck driver says he would do it all over again after contracting a flesh-eating bacteria while rescuing a couple stranded in floodwaters during hurricane Milton.
Truck driver George Maxwell was parked at a privately run truck parking lot on Interstate 4 near Tampa, Florida when Hurricane Milton hit in early October. The couple that manages the lot was attempting to ride out the storm in their barn when the water started rising. When Maxwell realized what was happening, he waded through chest-high water to get to the couple, reported Fox 13 News.
Maxwell opened the door to the barn and led Tonia Muse and Dan Heton through the high water and to his semi truck, which was parked on higher ground. The three then waited out the flood in Maxwell’s rig.
“He was like, no, come on, guys, we’ve got to go. We’ve got to go,” Heton said. “I stopped myself, and I realized, and I turned to George I said, ‘dude, you just saved our lives.’”
“I’ve never seen water in this area like this before. I was born and raised in this area, and I’ve never seen water like that,” said Muse.
Now, Maxwell has received the National Truckload Carriers Association’s “Highway Angel Award” in honor of his bravery. Unfortunately, the driver has also contracted a not-so-pleasant souvenir to remember the experience by – a flesh-eating bacteria he got from wading through the flood. Though hospitalized for the condition, Maxwell says he would rescue the couple all over again.
“I didn’t do nothing more than nobody else would have done, I hope,” said Maxwell, who also ended up losing his personal vehicle to the flood. “I mean, I would hope somebody would do it for me. I would do it for anybody else.”