DUI victim hopes good Samaritans get his message of thanks
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MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. -- A man who was saved by good Samaritans after being struck by a drunk driver last fall wants to reach out to those who saved him and express his thanks.
The crash happened late at night on the Maple Valley Highway. Bill Anderson doesn't remember the crash, just everything going black.
"I woke up inside the car. I couldn't move," he said. "I thought it was a dream."
A drunk driver pulled out of the parking lot of the Red Dog Saloon and slammed into Anderson. He was trapped, badly hurt and thought he was going to die.
A man climbed into the wreckage to hold his hand.
"The firefighters told him to get out of the car and he was arguing with them," Anderson said. "He told them he was going to stay with me and keep me awake and help me out."
A second Good Samaritan stood outside the car and called Anderson's mother Samantha. The woman was a lifeline.
"It was really a blessing that she was there," Samantha Tshudy said of the caller. " It was that... it was that phone call. Yeah, you dread that phone call, but thank God she was there."
Anderson had broken bones from his neck down to his knees and spent 12 days at Harborview Medical Center. He eventually met the firefighters who rescued him, but he hasn't met the Good Samaritans.
"I feel like he saved my life in a way," Anderson said. "I was definitely about to pass out and he kept me awake through the whole time, holding my hand and he was there."
Mother and son don't even know the names of the people who helped. They hope the strangers hear their message of thanks.
"Even if we don't get to meet them, just that they know it meant everything to us," Tshudy said.
Anderson still has a couple surgeries ahead, but he's making a remarkable recovery.
The man who hit him, Allan Mueller, was sentenced to six months in jail for driving drunk.
The crash happened late at night on the Maple Valley Highway. Bill Anderson doesn't remember the crash, just everything going black.
"I woke up inside the car. I couldn't move," he said. "I thought it was a dream."
A drunk driver pulled out of the parking lot of the Red Dog Saloon and slammed into Anderson. He was trapped, badly hurt and thought he was going to die.
A man climbed into the wreckage to hold his hand.
"The firefighters told him to get out of the car and he was arguing with them," Anderson said. "He told them he was going to stay with me and keep me awake and help me out."
A second Good Samaritan stood outside the car and called Anderson's mother Samantha. The woman was a lifeline.
"It was really a blessing that she was there," Samantha Tshudy said of the caller. " It was that... it was that phone call. Yeah, you dread that phone call, but thank God she was there."
Anderson had broken bones from his neck down to his knees and spent 12 days at Harborview Medical Center. He eventually met the firefighters who rescued him, but he hasn't met the Good Samaritans.
"I feel like he saved my life in a way," Anderson said. "I was definitely about to pass out and he kept me awake through the whole time, holding my hand and he was there."
Mother and son don't even know the names of the people who helped. They hope the strangers hear their message of thanks.
"Even if we don't get to meet them, just that they know it meant everything to us," Tshudy said.
Anderson still has a couple surgeries ahead, but he's making a remarkable recovery.
The man who hit him, Allan Mueller, was sentenced to six months in jail for driving drunk.
It's heart warming to read about this wonderful stranger, who cared so much for his fellow man that he did everything he could to help him. And then, to read at the end of the article that the drunk driver who hit him was only sentenced to 6 months, is so unbelieveable. How can you do this much damage to someone's life and walk away with a 6 month sentence. What is wrong with us, that we allow this to continue?
That was my first thought too: 6 months!? Doesn't surprise me I guess, but sickens me.
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It is wonderful to hear there are people out there willing to jump in & help a stranger so readily.Â
Six months. Not enough. Make it way longer, EVERY time, and maybe a few people might think twice about drinking and driving. Maybe...
Six months?? That's it?? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS BACKWARDS STATE???
Just enforce the laws on the books. For a DUI get a year, I have never  seen it. I doubt anyone reading this will agree.
How much time would the driver have spent if he had assaulted this victim with his fists? A lot more than 6 months, I'd bet. Glad Bill is making a good recovery and I wish him the best through it all.Â
The drunk got six months and sentenced his victum to life. Time to chande the laws and put a lot more teeth in them. We keep letting the crimminals off easy and just do not get it when they keep doing it.
I pay extra attention whenever I drive past the Red Dog Saloon, mostly for fear of creaming a buzzed biker. It's not set far off of the Maple Valley Highway which I believe is 50 MPH in that spot.
The drunk driver is only serving six effing months in jail. *smh* The victim's recovery is going to take longer than the amount of time that POS spends behind bars. How messed up is that?
 @Tattooed_Angel Very messed up indeed.
There are still good people around.