Man steps in to save stranded drivers from floodwaters

GLOBE, Ariz. - A man who was leaving a Valley hospital after his wife gave birth, stepped in to save people trapped in their vehicles from the weekend's floodwaters.

Local perspective:

There were dozens of water rescues over the past two nights across Arizona, including several in the Valley on Sept. 27. 

Most of these rescues are performed by first responders, but sometimes regular people have to step in and come to the aid of others.

That includes a man who stopped to help several stranded drivers, even carrying a few to safety on his back.

Jarvis Johnson is a "people person."

"I love, love, love people because I believe that everybody has a story," Johnson said.

So when he saw two women stuck in their car in the floodwaters on U.S. 60 on Sept. 26, he didn't hesitate to jump in.

"I had to make a decision to stand on the side or get in the game, and I got in the game," he said.

The backstory:

Johnson was on the way home from the hospital, where his wife had just given birth to the couple’s newborn son, to go see their other kids when his car stalled in the water.

"I had never seen water like that before," Johnson said.

While he waited for AAA to show, he heard an urgent cry for help.

"This lady was sticking her head out the window on the other side," Johnson said. "She stuck a whole body out the window and she was like, ‘Help us, help us.’"

"And so I ended up— I took everything out of my pocket and I got in the water," he said. "As I was getting in the water, I slipped, I hit the guardrail, I lost my glasses, but I wasn't thinking about that. All I was thinking about, this lady needs help. Keep going."

Johnson pulled the woman and her companion out of the car and carried them through the floodwaters.

Dig deeper:

When he was done, he went and found more people to help, working with strangers to save them.

"There was black, white, Mexican. Every race that you could think of really was out there," he said of the collaborative effort.

While many have called him a hero, even starting a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to replace the car he lost, he doesn't see himself that way.

"I don't think I'm a hero," Johnson said. "I just think that I'm just a regular person that did what almost anybody else in their right mind would have got out there and done."

Johnson, who is also an Uber driver, went on to help several others that day. The GoFundMe wll help raise money to get him a new car, with even some of the women he rescued donated to the cause.