Mandy McCraken: Texas Woman Comforts Dying Man Following Fatal Car Crash

Here’s more proof that there still are people on the planet that care for others. Mandy McCraken, a Houston woman was driving in her car on Thursday night when she witnessed a terrible accident. The crash involved two vehicles — a pickup truck and an SUV. While accidents do happen and are dreadfully commonplace nowadays, it is Mandy’s actions after this particular crash that is making headlines across Texas. The Houston woman is now being hailed for her actions that could have given the victim of the crash a few comforting moments as he lay dying in her arms.

According to Mandy, it was a normal Thursday night which turned awry after she witnessed the terrible crash. It all happened within a few seconds. She described the incident to KHOU News.

“A white truck is now in front of me and is just accelerating faster and faster.”

And then the truck hit the SUV that was in front of it. The impact of the crash overturned the SUV right in the middle of the road. The front of the pickup truck was completely smashed. Mandy, who witnessed all this in horror, instinctively drove towards the SUV so that she could help the people inside. She noticed that there was only a single passenger inside the SUV who was grievously injured.

Before law enforcement and emergency personnel arrived at the scene, she rushed to the driver of the SUV, who was still trapped inside the vehicle. There was little she could do — except to try and comfort the man. Mandy started talking to him.

“A man hit you going 80 miles an hour,” she said. “You are not responsible for this.”

Mandy adds that she believed that the victim, who has not been identified, was unconscious when she reached him. However he did seem to respond when McCraken told him, “I don’t know if you’re a Christian, ‘I’m going to pray with you.” His arm twitched right after she uttered that, Mandy now believes that the victim did hear her and that the twitch was an acknowledgement of the same. She continued talking to him and comforting him until help arrived.

Minutes later, police and firefighters arrived at the scene and extracted the man from the SUV. He was rushed to the hospital — but it was too late for him. Before he could receive medical care, he passed away.

Meanwhile, officers have arrested the Houston man who was driving the pickup truck that caused the accident. He has been charged with drunk driving. The man was later identified as 24-year-old Samuel Johnson.

Mandy McCraken had a message to the family members of the victim who died in the crash. She wanted to let them know that their loved one was not alone during the last few moments of his life.

“Somebody probably lost a brother, a son, friend and it’s all senseless,” McCraken said. “Someone was with him. He was not alone.”

The accident happened barely a mile away from where the victim lived. Friends and family gathered at the spot to pay tribute the next day.

“They smelled alcohol about his breath,” said HPD Sgt. Ignacio Izaguirre.

Samuel Johnson, the person who caused the accident, had allegedly rear-ended another car before he rammed his pickup truck into the SUV, officials confirmed.

[Images Via KHOU]