I SURVIVED: I Just Got Shot, and Boy Does It Hurt

Summary

Podcast Summary: Cold Case Files – I SURVIVED: I Just Got Shot, and Boy Does It Hurt

Release Date: June 21, 2025
Host: Paula Barros

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of Cold Case Files, host Paula Barros delves into the harrowing survival stories of three individuals who faced life-threatening situations. The episode, titled "I SURVIVED: I Just Got Shot, and Boy Does It Hurt," not only recounts their ordeals but also explores the profound psychological and emotional impacts of their experiences. This summary captures the key points, discussions, and insights from each survivor's narrative, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps for reference.

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Terry Jo’s Ordeal: A Yacht Tragedy in the Bahamas

Timestamp: [02:02] – [15:35]

Terry Jo, an 11-year-old girl, recounts the tragic events that unfolded in November 1961 while cruising the Bahamas on the yacht Bluebell with her family. The voyage, under the command of Captain Julian Harvey and his wife Mary, began as a dream escape filled with joy and freedom.

Key Points:

• The Incident: On the fifth night at sea, Terry Jo is awakened by her brother's desperate screams, signaling that something horrific has occurred. Upon investigating, she discovers her parents and sister dead, with blood pooling around them.

  "I was awakened by my brother screaming help, daddy, help. And it was the type of a scream that set me on edge. I knew something terrible had happened."
  — Terry Jo [02:12]

• Confrontation with the Captain: As the yacht begins to sink, Terry Jo observes Captain Harvey acting suspiciously. He initially throws a lifeline but then dives overboard, leaving Terry Jo to fend for herself.

  "Captain Harvey threw a line to me, which was for the dinghy, which was over the side of the boat, and he said, hold this. Well, as he threw it at me, I missed it."
  — Terry Jo [07:05]

• Survival Struggle: Terry Jo survives two nights adrift on a cork raft, battling dehydration, exposure, and the fear of Captain Harvey returning to finish her off. Her resilience is highlighted as she manages to stay afloat until rescue.

• Aftermath and Revelation: Upon rescue, a Coast Guard report and Terry Jo’s testimony reveal that Captain Harvey was the sole survivor who later committed suicide. Investigations suggest Harvey murdered his family for insurance money due to financial desperation.

  "Captain Harvey's story was that there was a terrible storm... It was totally different than my story."
  — Terry Jo [15:00]

Insights: Terry Jo’s account underscores the devastating impact of trauma and the strength required to survive such unimaginable loss. Her later struggles with trauma highlight the long-term effects of childhood experiences on adult life.

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Christa’s Survival: The 2010 Haiti Earthquake

Timestamp: [19:11] – [30:09]

Christa, a PhD student, shares her harrowing experience during the catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010. Alongside her brother Julian and local aid workers, she navigates the chaos and destruction caused by the 7.0 magnitude quake.

Key Points:

• The Earthquake: Christa describes the intense and unusual tremors that led to the collapse of the house where she was staying. Trapped by concrete slabs, she endures excruciating pain and the darkness of being buried alive.

  "My entire world was white. There was so much concrete and cement dust in the air that I couldn't see my hand 5 inches in front of my face."
  — Christa [23:58]

• Rescue Efforts: With the help of her brother Julian and Major Sujith Said of the Sri Lankan peacekeepers, Christa manages to free herself from the rubble. Despite severe injuries, including the amputation of her right leg, she survives thanks to the prompt medical attention and the resilience of her rescuers.

  "I survived because people stepped forward and did the right thing. I'm really impressed at how good, how kind people were in such a terrible situation."
  — Christa [29:00]

• Long-Term Impact: Determined to give back, Christa establishes Christa's Angels Foundation, aimed at assisting those who saved her life by rebuilding the school where she and Julian worked. Her story is a testament to turning personal tragedy into a force for good.

Insights: Christa’s survival illustrates the critical importance of community and international support during disasters. Her dedication to aiding her rescuers reflects the profound bonds formed in moments of crisis and the enduring spirit of humanity.

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Brian’s Terrifying Experience: A Truck Stop Hijacking

Timestamp: [31:38] – [38:50]

Brian, a truck driver from Jackson, Mississippi, narrates his terrifying experience of being shot and hijacked at a truck stop in January 2010. His ordeal, marked by sudden violence and fear for his life, underscores the dangers faced by individuals in vulnerable positions.

Key Points:

• The Attack: While parked at a truck stop adhering to federal regulations, Brian is abruptly attacked by two armed men. The assailant fires a shot, resulting in a wounded leg, and threatens to kill him unless he complies.

  "The biggest thought that went through my head when the bullet hit me was, I just got shot. And, boy does it hurt."
  — Brian [32:12]

• Hostage Situation: Forced to drive his truck loaded with farm tractors, Brian is subjected to threats and control by the hijackers. The psychological strain of fearing for his life while dealing with physical pain is palpable.

  "Heart racing, of course. He climbs the rest of the way in the truck. I'm laying on my stomach, and he causes his buddy inside the truck to sit in the driver's seat."
  — Brian [36:00]

• Escape and Aftermath: After a tense period, Brian gathers the courage to wake up and assess his situation, ultimately escaping and calling 911. Despite his injuries, he recovers and returns to driving, though he continues to grapple with PTSD.

  "To this day, I have trouble sleeping in my truck. I can honestly say two years later, I'll wake up with a pin dropping on the floor."
  — Brian [38:27]

• Unresolved Case: The perpetrators of Brian’s attack remain at large, highlighting ongoing issues with unresolved violent crimes.

Insights: Brian’s story emphasizes the lasting effects of traumatic experiences and the importance of mental health support for survivors. His determination to overcome fear and return to his life illustrates resilience in the face of adversity.

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Conclusion

This episode of Cold Case Files poignantly captures the extraordinary survival stories of Terry Jo, Christa, and Brian. Each narrative not only recounts the immediate survival but also delves into the enduring psychological impacts and the paths to healing and purpose post-trauma. Host Paula Barros expertly weaves these stories to highlight themes of resilience, community support, and the human spirit's capacity to overcome profound challenges.

Listeners are left with a deeper understanding of how moments of extreme adversity can shape lives and the importance of support systems in the journey toward recovery and reinvention.

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Note: This summary excludes advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections to focus solely on the core stories presented in the episode.

Transcript

[Experian Representative]

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[Greenlight Representative]

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[Narrator]

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Join millions of parents and kids building healthy financial habits together online on Greenlight.

[Narrator]

Get started risk [e-mail] Wondry hi I survived listeners. I'm Marissa Pinson and if you're enjoying this show, I just want to remind you that episodes of I Survived as well as the A and E classic podcast, Cold Case Files, City Confidential and American justice are all available ad free on the new A and E Crime and Investigation channel on Apple Podcasts and Apple plus for just 4.99amonth or 39.99 a year. And now onto the show. This episode contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

[Terry Jo]

I was awakened by my brother screaming and it was the type of a scream that it set me on edge. I knew something terrible had happened.

[Narrator]

Real people.

[Greenlight Representative]

The earthquake hit when I was right at the top of the stairs and I was able to run all the way down to the landing before the house collapsed.

[Narrator]

Who faced death.

[Brian]

He put the Gun to the back of my head. The next thing this man says is, I'm gonna kill you and live to tell how.

[Terry Jo]

My mother and brother were lying on the floor and they looked dead to me. There was a pool of blood next to them.

[Narrator]

This is, I survived. It's November 1961 in the Bahamas. 11 year old Terry and her family are cruising the Bahamas on a charter yacht called the Bluebell. On board are her parents, 14 year old brother and 7 year old sister.

[Terry Jo]

The trip was just wonderful. My brother and I were just free to run on the boat and watch the dolphins stand on the bowsprit. Each day we would lift anchor and we would go to another island and moor out and then we would take a dinghy into the beaches and either swim fish, walk the beaches and it was just, it was like a dream. It was just beautiful. It was paradise.

[Narrator]

The Bluebell was crewed by Captain Julian Harvey and his wife Mary.

[Terry Jo]

Captain Harvey was very, very handsome. He was tanned, he was very muscular. He was very shy, sort of standoffish almost, but always very pleasant. And his wife Mary Dean was very bubbly and very gracious. She did the cooking and just a really, really nice young lady.

[Narrator]

On their fifth night at sea, Terry was the first to go to bed.

[Terry Jo]

I was awakened by my brother screaming help, daddy, help. And it was the type of a, a scream that it set me on edge. I knew something terrible had happened and so I just lay in there and lay in there and it was probably five or 10 minutes and I decided, well, I would leave my bunk and go out the door. And as I went out of my cabin, you went into the main cabin, which was the dining room and the galley and my mother and brother were lying on the floor. My brother was dressed in his pajamas, My mother was in her regular clothing and they looked dead to me. There was a pool of blood next to them. I think I went into shock because I didn't go and touch them. And I think I knew they were dead. I mean I saw the blood and they were in such a position that they just, there was no movement. So I went past them and I continued up the stairway to the top of the deck. And as I went up I saw I was facing the rear and I saw blood on one of the cockpit seats. And I thought what was a knife in the shadows? And then I turned around and I looked forward and I saw the captain up in the bow and he was coming towards me and he was sort of crouched and it looked like he had a bucket or something. In his hand. And I asked, I said, what is going on? What's happening? And he gruffly said, get down there and push me down below into the cabin again. I was very trusting and I thought that something bad had happened and that he didn't want me to see what had happened. And I was trying to, you know, think, where's my dad? Was he helping, you know, where's my sister? Seeing the captain, I trust and believe that everything was under control. So I went down and went back into my bunk and I remained there and I was listening and listening and it was very, very quiet. And he came into my cab and opened the door and he had a rifle in his hand and he just stared at me. He didn't say anything. We just had eye contact and then he backed out.

[Narrator]

As Terri huddled on the bunk, her cabin began filling with water.

[Terry Jo]

And then the water started sloshing my mattress and it began to float. And so I decided, well, the boat is sinking, I need to get out of here. I was rather queasy because the water was not clear. And I was really horrified that I was gonna bump into my mother and brother because I knew that I had to wade through the area where they were. And so I did it. I got out and I just stood there and Captain Harvey threw a line to me, which was for the dinghy, which was over the side of the boat, and he said, hold this. Well, as he threw it at me, I missed it. And he saw that I didn't have the line in my hand, so he dove over the boat as I was standing on the deck and the captain dove overboard for the dinghy. It was obvious to me that the ship was going down.

[Narrator]

Captain Harvey rode away and left the 11 year old girl to her fate. Although in shock, Terry knew there was a cork raft lashed to the cabin roof.

[Terry Jo]

I remembered where the cork float was. I had to carry it over the sails, which were all billowing on deck and in the water, floating, and I lifted it over the stanchions, put it in the water, and it was on top of the sail, got into it, and then the bluebell was gone, but the rope was still connected to the raft. And I was just horrified that it was going to pull me under. And I was scrambling and scrambling to untie it and eventually it let loose. And at that point the boat was gone. I huddled in this raft and it was very dark and I was motionless and silent and I just stayed that way and stayed that way. It finally dawned on me that there was something evil about Captain Harvey. And I was very fearful that he would find me. And I just waited and waited for morning to come. And that's when I was relieved. I could see then it was a clear morning, and I looked around, and I couldn't see Harvey. I couldn't see anything but water. I was sitting in this cork raft, and the bottom was interlaced rope. I was always sitting in the water. I was always wet, and the only position I could be in was sitting. It was very uncomfortable, and the parrotfish started picking at me through the rope.

[Narrator]

Terry did not know Captain Harvey had been rescued earlier, saying he was the only survivor. Despite his claims, the Coast Guard began an air and sea search for other survivors.

[Terry Jo]

As I was floating on the ocean in a white raft, in white clothing, I blended in with the white caps, which really prohibited the search planes from spotting me. It was very discouraging because there was a red search plane that came so close to me, I could almost reach up and grab it. I took my blouse off and I waved it, thinking. And I was screaming and thinking that, you know, I'm here. I'm here. Don't you see me? And I thought for sure it was so close to me that they spotted me. But they flew off and was very disheartening. I saw numerous ships on the horizon, and I would try to use my hands to paddle toward them. After one or two times, I realized that they were so far in the distance that it was absolutely impossible that I would, you know, get to them. And I gave up hope that they wouldn't even see me. Then the night came, and the night before, it was very, very cold. And I was dreading it because it was very uncomfortable sitting. And in the sitting position, I couldn't really fall asleep. Yet I did. I kept dozing. And I had a dream that I could see the blue lights of an airport, the landing strip, and I could see that my parents were waiting for me at the end of the landing strip. And. And so I was going to meet them. I jumped out of the raft, and jumping out of the raft awakened me. And fortunately, I hadn't let go. So I was still holding onto the cork, and I scrambled back in. I realized then that it was very dangerous to sleep because if I lost that raft, I was a goner.

[Narrator]

Terry has now endured two nights adrift with. Without food or water.

[Terry Jo]

The second day, when it was dawn, it was cloudy. And I was very disappointed. It was very rough. I was very discouraged. It was uncomfortable. I was cold. And then I looked to my right and there was a pod of pilot whales swimming next to me. And it was, it brightened my day. It helped me get through the day. They were there and I thought they were there to protect me and keep me company.

[Narrator]

As the sun set, Terry prepared for a third sleepless night.

[Terry Jo]

On the third night I was very exhausted. I was afraid to sleep because I didn't want to jump out of the raft or lose control of the raft. It was very, very dark. I did not think about my family and what had happened. And the reason I didn't think about them was I was having to deal with surviving on the raft. I wasn't thinking about how long it's been or am I thirsty or am I hungry. I just went and existed with what I had. The sun rose the next day and thank goodness it was there because I was very chilled and pretty much falling in and out of consciousness just on and off most of the time. And I just sat there and just stared at the horizon. And I did see a ship again. And I thought, well, this one's going to pass right by. I didn't get my hopes up because I had seen so many ships previously. You know, I was pretty weak at that point, so it was like I wasn't really excited or I wasn't. I didn't have the energy to start paddling or anything or waving. I just sat there. The man in the lookout spotted me with his binoculars and at first thought that I was a fisherman and then realized that a fisherman wouldn't be out in such a little boat. And then looked closer and decided that it was some kind of a person in a raft. The boat that rescued me was a Greek oil tanker named the Captain Theo, which is God in Greek. And I awakened in a cabin and I had dry clothing on and I was in a warm bunk. Felt wonderful. The next thing I remember was that I was being carried on deck, wrapped in a blanket and put in a basket that was lowered from a helicopter.

[Narrator]

A Coast Guard helicopter rushed the gravely ill 11 year old to a Miami hospital.

[Terry Jo]

I was almost dead from exposure and dehydration. My heart rate was irregular, my kidneys weren't working, so I was near death. It was four or five days until I was stabilized. And so the Coast Guard came into my room and they asked me questions.

[Narrator]

Captain Harvey, rescued within hours of the sinking, said he was the sole survivor. Terry's evidence would reveal the truth about how her family had died.

[Terry Jo]

Captain Harvey's story was that there was a terrible storm. The mast, the main mast snapped in half. And pierced the cabin deck. There was an explosion and everything was on fire, and that everybody jumped over the boat because the boat was on fire and that he couldn't get to anybody. And people were screaming and hollering and there was blood all over the place. He told them that he didn't believe there were any survivors, that he saw everybody go overboard. That was the story that Captain Harvey told, and it was totally different than my story. There were people who doubted him in the beginning, but, you know, how could they when he was the only survivor, you know, until my story came about. After I was found, Captain Harvey checked into a motel and committed suicide.

[Narrator]

Harvey killed himself before murder charges could be laid against him.

[Terry Jo]

The Coast Guard's report determined that Captain Julian Harvey probably was in the act of murdering his wife Mary for insurance money. It was found out that he was very poor and owed money to many people and that probably my father or my mother caught him in the act, and then he had to dispose of everyone else.

[Narrator]

Terry's survival was one of the biggest news stories of 1961. After being released from the hospital, Terry was adopted by relatives.

[Terry Jo]

Everyone was told, don't talk to Terri about this. Just, you know, pretend like it didn't happen. She's just supposed to be a normal child. Just go on with your life and just don't mention anything to her. So everyone did that. And it was very hard for me. I was known as brave little Terry Jo, and so I had to live that. You know, I struggled most of my life. I had ups and downs, and it was a result of holding in a lot of the trauma I experienced as a young child. So I made wrong decisions, I made mistakes, but I moved on. And now I'm at the point in my life where I should be. I'm at a good point. And so I'm willing to. To share this with people so that they can realize that you can go on. I survived because I was put in a situation that I dealt with. If you're put in a situation that is challenging, you need to go with it. If you fight it, you're not going to make it. And so you have to adapt to whatever the circumstances are and go with the flow. And I think that anybody that does this can survive.

[Narrator]

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[Greenlight Representative]

Julian and I flew down right after a New Year's Eve party in Philadelphia and got to Port au Prince about 8 in the morning on January 3rd. We were met by Gerald, who's one of the leaders of this organization, and some friends of his. We were living with Geral and his.

[Narrator]

Family on the morning of January 12th. Christa and Julian assisted at an adult literacy class.

[Greenlight Representative]

After the adult literacy Class was over. Julian and Geral and I went to our friend Framey's house to connect to the Internet and send some emails to our parents and everyone saying, we're doing okay. We'd just sat down. There were five of us in the house. Julian and I and Geral and then two other Haitian men. We'd sat down to connect to the Internet when the earthquake hit. When I first felt the earthquake, it was a really distinct vertical shock. So basically the house jumped. It was. And it was so distinct that I didn't think it was an earthquake. I'd been in a number of earthquakes before, and this was different than what I'd ever felt before. It was basically a single shockwave. So I thought that a truck had hit the building because I thought that Haiti was in an earthquake zone. The second shockwave was actually a horizontal shift. It slipped us backwards quickly, distinctly, and then just sort of like a spring, a bang, backwards. I looked up, saw Julian was already running towards the stairs and quickly decided to follow. We were in the second story of the house. So there was one round of stairs that went straight down, and then there was a landing. And then there was another four or five stairs before you got to the ground floor. The third shockwave, when the house really started shaking and started to collapse, hit when I was about at the top of the stairs and I made it to the landing before the house collapsed. I slipped and fell on the landing. I think at least that's where I dropped the book that was in my hands and my sandals fell off. And then ended up face down on the lower part of the staircase. It was pretty incoherent, shaking and chaos. The house was coming down around us. The roof fell behind backwards. The walls fell in. The railing from the top part of the staircase fell over me. It was a steel railing. And when the roof fell on top of it, it was strong enough to keep the cement roof off of my head. My entire world was white. There was so much concrete and cement dust in the air that I couldn't see my hand 5 inches in front of my face. I was continuing to yell to Julian that, I'm here, I'm stuck, I'm okay, I'm alive. I was face down on the stairs. They had white ceramic tiles on them that I was busy pulling off and trying to dig myself free because they were sharper, they were stronger than the cement. I was trapped, basically from the waist down. There were big, heavy slabs of concrete on my legs. I didn't see any injuries. I thought that I Was worried about losing circulation because I knew that having a house squashing your legs is pretty heavy. This was a big enough earthquake that there were a lot of other people trapped in houses to. I had to figure out how I could get myself out because help wasn't coming. Some of the bigger slabs of concrete that had fallen on me were supporting the rest of the house. So if they disturbed those, then the house would collapse on me. I sort of went into my engineering mindset of this is the problem. These are the steps I need to take to solve it. These are the resources I have. This is the way that I can move forward. I need to get out of the building before it collapses on me. The plan to get me out basically evolved. Julian and Geral picked up the smaller pieces that they could by hand, as quickly as they could. It took him about half an hour to get my first to get my right leg free. That was the one that was a little higher on the stairs. I could feel that the weight was getting less on my leg, so I was excited about it. I was trying to pull myself forward into the. Into the little nook in front of me where there was more space, and I thought it would be safer if the house collapsed while they were. While they were moving pieces around. When they finally got my right leg free, there was. They'd been speaking in Creole, and the other two men who were there were also chattering. And then all of a sudden, all of them were real quiet. And then Geral reached through the cement blocks and felt my left leg in order to. What he was doing was he was checking to see if that one was okay because they'd seen that my right leg was cut in half. It was basically like my leg was guillotined. The bones were cut clean through. The muscle was cut clean through. There was only about, say, a quarter worth of tissue still holding my right foot onto my right leg. After Julian and Gerald got my right leg free, they decided that my left leg was too deeply buried to get it out without. Without tools, the slabs of cement were too heavy to lift by hand. So Gerald went back home where he knew he had a pickaxe.

[Narrator]

With the pickaxe, they were able to break up the slab pinning Christa's left leg.

[Greenlight Representative]

After a couple seconds, they said, okay, well, can you move your right leg? Move your right leg back. Basically crawl backwards up the stairs out of a fairly small little hole. And eventually, well, real quickly, they got me out.

[Narrator]

Krista's injury was so, so traumatic that the blood vessels had partially Sealed, preventing her from bleeding to death.

[Greenlight Representative]

I started to faint. You know how your vision sort of gets dark and you get tunnel vision. But then when Gerald and Wenson were telling me that I had to get on the motorcycle, they were going to bring me to a hospital, I realized that if I fainted, I wouldn't be able to sit up on a motorcycle. So I had to sort of hold on and stay conscious. This was probably the scariest part of, of the whole experience for me because I could really see how the breadth of the devastation. Basically every house I saw had collapsed. There were a lot of people out, really scared in the streets, trying to figure out what had just happened, what was going on.

[Narrator]

Christa was taken to a nearby UN peacekeeping mission run by Sri Lankan soldiers.

[Greenlight Representative]

When I first got there, there were maybe 100 other Haitians, all as badly injured as me, scared, milling around, not knowing what to do, hoping to get some medical care and some help. The Sri Lankan guys, they really did everything they could. They had some basic medical supplies. They poured some disinfectant all over my leg and sent somebody off to get a fence post, where once the wet, dirty, gross looking fence post returned, they strapped my leg to it in order to brace it and keep me from further injuring it. Dealing with the level of pain I was in at this point was the way I managed was really by trying to focus on anything else. I talked to really anybody who'd listened to me to try and keep my mind off what was happening to me. At one point I asked for pain medication and the guys just sort of chuckled. Half an hour later, he came back and offered me one of those little single shot servings of alcohol of some variety. I didn't quite catch what it was. I figured alcohol is a blood thinner, so it probably wasn't a good idea for me. The first night was pretty long. Most of the time I remember laying on my back and looking up at the stars. I could see Orion right above my head. And I watched him move from straight overhead to about that far. There were a lot of people. By the end of the night, the whole courtyard was full, maybe 600 people. There were also a number of priests who were praying and leading people in song. Basically, we did all feel like the only way to get through that night was pulling together that there wasn't help coming. A number of the soldiers kept asking me if I was Heidi. They'd say, are you Heidi? Are you Heidi? No, no, I'm not Heidi, but who is she? Can I go home with her? It turns out that they were asking if I was Haitian. I just wasn't listening for the right accent. I was expecting a Creole accent. And so once they established I was American, a major in the Sri Lankan army, Major Sujith Said, had me write down my email address and my phone number and he was going to try and call my parents. He thought that if he could get ahold of anybody, somebody would come and get me. But he couldn't get through anywhere. There was no communications of any variety. So eventually he gave up on that and decided that the only way he was going to get care for me was to go to Port au Prince himself and find somebody to take care of me. I don't really understand why. I mean, I was a stranger. He'd never met me before. I was just a little white girl. And he took it upon himself to go 10 miles all the way to Port au Prince to find an ambulance for me. I was pretty scared that I would have to stay another night. I wasn't quite sure how long my blood pressure would stay high enough that I would be conscious because I was losing so much blood. I don't know how he did it, but Major Shuji somehow sent a message that he was on his way back with an ambulance and that he'd be there in an hour. And sure enough, an hour later, he shows up with an ambulance and two stretchers.

[Narrator]

Christa and other seriously wounded were rushed to the airport and evacuated to Florida.

[Greenlight Representative]

We flew into the Fort Lauderdale airport and they had a train of ambulances and a couple of police cars waiting to give us an escort for the 45 minute drive back to Jackson Memorial. It was about 30 hours, I think, between when the earthquake happened and when I finally got painkillers. I know the earthquake was at 4:53pm Tuesday. And I got to the air. Our plane landed at 8:11pm Wednesday. And then it was probably another hour before I actually got painkillers. Eventually the lead doctor came up to me and told me that he wasn't going to be able to save my foot. I. It was pretty obvious where they were going to take my leg. The bones were cut clean through. It really would only have taken a pair of scissors and a minute or two to take the rest of my foot off.

[Narrator]

More than a day after the Haiti earthquake, Christa's right leg was amputated below the knee.

[Greenlight Representative]

Losing my foot seemed pretty minor compared to being alive. That there are a lot of ways I could have died in those two days. And there are a lot of ways that the stars aligned for me that I got out. A lot of people stepped forward and did really good things to save my life.

[Narrator]

The magnitude 7 earthquake that devastated Haiti left a million people homeless. As many as 230,000 people died in the disaster.

[Greenlight Representative]

It's been really important to me to figure out a way to really turn bad into good, to make a difference in the lives of the people who saved mine. So what my family and I did was we started a foundation called Christa's Angels. The aim of this is to really help the guys who saved my life rebuild theirs. We we've raised enough money to rebuild the school that Julian and I were working in. So it's a slow process. But I think it's really important that these are family now. These are guys who saved my life, so we need to provide for them. I survived because people stepped forward and did the right thing. I'm really impressed at how good, how kind people were in such a terrible situation.

[Narrator]

I Survived is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart Choice Progressive loves to help people make smart choices. That's why they offer a tool called Auto Quote Explorer that allows you to compare your Progressive car insurance quote with rates from other companies so you save time on the research and can enjoy savings when you choose the best rate for you. Give it a try after this [e-mail], progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy. Mochi Health is here to help you start your weight loss journey with caring personalized support. Meet one on one with board certified obesity doctors and registered dietitians who truly listen and understand your unique needs. Eligible patients can access affordable GLP1 medications delivered right to their door each month. No insurance, no problem. Mochi Health accepts FSA and HSA making care accessible and affordable. And with 24. 7 customer service, you'll never feel alone on your path to better health. Get started with Mochi Health today. Take the free [e-mail] and use code AUDIO40 at checkout for $40 off your first month of membership. That's join mochi.com with promo code AUDIO40. It's February 2008 in Jackson, Mississippi. Brian, a truck driver has been on the road since early morning.

[Brian]

The way the the federal regulations work is you know you have a 14 hour work day. 11 hours of that 14 hours can be driving. And after your 11 hours of driving you have to take a 10 hour break, park the truck. You can't move It. And that's where you stay. Inside the cab of the truck, you have a bed behind the driver and passenger seat, and, you know, that's your home. I mean, it's really no different than your master bedroom at your house. It's just in a smaller compartment.

[Narrator]

Parking his truck at a truck stop, Brian prepared to go to bed.

[Brian]

You know, I had washed my clothes, took my shower, ate, you know, called home and talked there for about 45 minutes. And, you know, and I was tired and had basically taken some sinus pills and said, I'm going to bed. And I hear a crash. Sit up in the bed. It startles me, all groggy out. I'm looking out the front window, thinking, who just hit my truck? I got up on my knees to further investigate what was going on. And all of a sudden, this man's coming through my window, hand wrapped around my steering wheel, with this funny grimace on his face. And then I realized, oh, he's got a gun. At the same time that I backed away from him. He fired the gun. He just shot me. This man just shot me. That was the biggest thought that went through my head when the bullet hit me was, I just got shot. And, boy, does it hurt. The next thing this man says is, I'm gonna kill you. My feeling was just, don't. I have two kids. I have a family. At this point, I'm, you know, still on my knees begging for my life. He just looked at me with that little grimace he had and says, lay down then, and cooperate. If I didn't cooperate, I would die, and then who would find me? That's a thought that ran through my head this whole time, is, if I die, how will my family find me? Will they know? I feel helpless. Never been helpless before, but feel helpless at this point. Heart racing, of course. He climbs the rest of the way in the truck. I'm laying on my stomach, and he causes his buddy inside the truck to sit in the driver's seat. He put the gun to the back of my head, and I'm feeling, oh, crap, you know, am I gonna die? I thought about my boys and thought about what they would think. I prayed, just let them know that I love them. I looked, turned my head sideways and actually looked down the barrel of the gun. He put the gun to the back of my head, and he asked me, how do you drive this? He can't drive it because of it being such an old truck. He had to fumble with it, and you had to drive it a certain way or you just wouldn't make the truck go. And I had to explain with the gun at the back of my head how to drive the truck. Once they had actually got the truck to moving, the man looked at me and said, I'm gonna tie you up now. Put your hands behind your back. And I felt him forcefully take my left hand and my right hand and put them together and duct tape my legs and then proceeded to duct tape my eyes. I hear these two men talking back and forth, saying, well, he's not from around here, so he doesn't know where we're at. He doesn't know anything. And I hear him, the man with the gun, he's right beside my head. And I hear him tell the. The guy driving get off with this next day. And a guy touches me in the head again with the gun, and he just. He says, we gotta make a stop. We stop in here, and if you make a move, you won't live. You be real still. He says, this is just about business. All we want is your load. I'm thinking, well, take it. Take my truck. Let me go. I had three farm tractors on my trailer. They actually stated, that's what we want. We just want your load. We don't want you. We don't want your truck. We just want your load. Cooperate and you'll live. You fight, then you'll get two to the back of the head like the last one. I hear the guy in the driver's seat get out, hear the brakes set, you know, and him get out. And at that point, I knew exactly what they were doing. They were dropping my trailer. They were gonna hook to it with another truck, and they were. They were gonna be gone. They both climbed back up in the truck, and he's got the gun back on me again, saying, don't you do nothing. Don't you make any moves. Then the truck starts moving again. And I can feel that the truck's not moving slow. It's getting faster and faster. Of course, the pain in my leg, you know, I'm having to block it off, but it's still there, and every little bump hurts. Then I hear the. Hear the brakes and actually like, oh, no, what's gonna happen? They said, we're getting out here to talk to this guy. Don't make a move. This other guy sees you moving in here, he's gonna come up in here and he's gonna kill you. They both climbed out of the truck. One out the passenger side, one out the driver's side. It was after laying there for 15 minutes or so, and actually not wanting to breathe, not wanting to make any kind of movement, that I actually started hearing the other things around me and realizing that, okay, well, nobody's around but me. I worked the duct tape off my eyes and positioned myself to where I could see out the windows. And then I look to my right and I see another truck. And I said, oh, I know where I'm at. I'm right back where I began.

[Narrator]

Brian was back at the truck stop where his ordeal had begun two hours before.

[Brian]

I fumbled around in the front, leaned over into the front and found my cell phone and dialed 911. And I told the operator that I had been shot and hijacked. She stayed on the phone with me until the ambulance actually got there. Remember feeling scared because now I'm dealing with it. The aftershock. The aftershock of, oh, no, this just happened to me, and it's not a dream. It did happen.

[Narrator]

As the bullet had passed straight through Brian's leg, he was treated and discharged from the hospital that night. Within a month of the attack, Brian was back driving his truck. The the two men who shot Brian and stole his trailer have never been caught.

[Brian]

To this day, I have trouble sleeping in my truck. I can honestly say two years later, I'll wake up with a pin dropping on the floor. I don't sleep hard anymore. I survived for my family and my kids. That's why I believe I survived. That I have something better and a bigger purpose to accomplish before it's my time.

[Narrator]

Foreign.

[Experian Representative]

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