Man who carried women out of East Valley floodwaters: ‘Right place at the right time’

PHOENIX — An Eloy father is being lauded as a hero after carrying two women on his back out of floodwaters last week.

“I was in the right place at the right time,” Jarvis Johnson told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos on Tuesday.

Johnson, who is an Uber driver, was in the Valley on Friday, as Phoenix saw its rainiest day in seven years.

He was driving on the US 60-Loop 101 Price Freeway interchange in Tempe during the storms and became stuck as the road filled with water.

“I didn’t know how deep it was,” Johnson said. “What people don’t know is that water looked like it was about 2 inches deep.”

How Uber driver helped rescue women from flooded freeway

Johnson tried to get his car out of the flood, but was unable to, leading him to call 911 to let authorities know about his predicament.

As he made the call, Johnson noticed he wasn’t the only driver having issues with the depth of the water.

“Another car came through the water. He came through and he got in front of me and his flashers were on and I’m like, ‘Oh, gosh,'” Johnson said. “So, I got out of the car, tried to help him. I pushed his car out of there.”

Immediately after that, Johnson said four or five more cars tried to drive through the water and got stuck. He jumped into action and helped push three cars out, something he admitted was dangerous.

“I had two heart attacks last year,” Johnson said. “I had two stents put in and I have real bad asthma. I shouldn’t have even done none of that.”

Despite the risk to his health, Johnson remained determined to help as many people as he could, including two women who were inside a stranded van.

“I didn’t know how deep it was,” Johnson said. “That never crossed my mind. Nothing crossed my mind but, ‘Let’s go get this lady out.'”

Johnson then went into the water, which caused him to trip and fall over a guardrail and lose his glasses.

Even though his sight was diminished, Johnson’s willpower to rescue the women remained strong as he made his way to their van.

 

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The first woman in the car jumped on Johnson’s back, and he carried her piggyback style to dry land before returning to the car and doing the same thing for the second woman.

Johnson said this was nothing out of the ordinary, as helping others is a key part of his identity.

“My name is Jarvis and Jarvis means servant,” Johnson said. “I saw people that needed help and I went into the water.”

Community rallies to support Johnson after flood rescue

After helping others last week, it is now Johnson who needs help, as his car has been inoperable since getting stuck in the water on the freeway.

“My mechanic looked at it (Monday). He said it’s an electrical issue,” Johnson said. “He said more likely it’s totaled.”

Due to that, Johnson, who is a father of four, is now without his main source of income.

A GoFundMe has been created to help support Johnson and his family and thank him for his efforts.

Johnson said he is grateful, but he is not looking for recognition.

“It’s not about me,” Johnson added. “It’s about all of us because it came as a community.”

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