ORLANDO, Fla. – A heartwarming reunion after a scare caught on camera: The man pulled from a car moments before a SunRail train slammed into it hugged the man who saved him a day later.
Before Thursday, 73-year-old Jean Marseille never knew 30-year-old Nelson Perez. Now, less than 24 hours after meeting, they're embracing each other.
"All of a sudden, I just looked around (at) my surroundings and I just see the car stuck," Perez said.
Nelson was working at his shop that neighbors the Orange Avenue tracks Thursday afternoon. After seeing Marseille's car wasn't moving he went over to help.
"The car just didn't want to turn on. I seen it myself. I tried to turn it on, tried to turn it on. The car turned on. It shut off. It turned on, it shut off," Perez said.
A language barrier between the two -- Marseille is Haitian and doesn't speak much English -- made communication a little difficult.
"We really weren't understanding each other. I was saying something he was just trying to figure out where he was at," Perez said.
Even so, Perez was able to get him out of the car and out of line of a direct hit by the SunRail train.
"When it got hit, I was just like 'Oh my gosh.' I saw the car flying. I thought it was going to land into my property," Perez said.
Authorities said without a doubt, Perez saved Marseille's life.
For Perez, he's crediting someone else.
"I just want to thank God for putting me there and just giving me the right mind and the right time and the courage basically to do it," Perez said.
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