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Uber passenger suffered spontaneous brain hemorrhage mid-conversation — driver's split-second decision saved his life

The driver and the passenger were talking about music and other things, and were near the end of the ride when the incident happened.

BY RADHIKA AGARWAL

PUBLISHED 2 DAYS AGO

(L) An Uber Taxi standing on the road. (R) Paramedics using a defibrillator on a patient in an ambulance. (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | (L) Aleksandr Sochnev; (R) Mikhail Nilov)

A regular day can turn into a life-changing experience with just one incident. An example of this was easily seen in the case of an Uber driver and a passenger, when the latter suffered from a brain hemorrhage in the middle of the ride. The customer named Justin Anderson was headed to his new job when the entire situation unfolded, prompting the driver to take quick action to save his life. The driver named Taras Zvir called 911 and immediately got to work to help Anderson until the ambulance arrived, per Fox 29 Philadelphia.

An Uber driver standing at the side of a road and waiting for a passenger. Representative Image Source: Pexels | Franz Abenojar

A 41-year-old Anderson called for an Uber to take him to his new job at Warminster from Lebanon Avenue in Philadelphia on February 25, 2025. During the ride, he suffered from a brain hemorrhage. Zvir immediately stopped the car, called 911 and ran to help Anderson. The ambulance arrived within minutes. He was in a coma after that at Abington Hospital, and his mom, Debbie (Deborah) Anderson, was convinced that her son wouldn't have survived without the driver's help. "It gives me a little bit more faith in humanity. I was so thankful because had he taken any time or not responded the way he did, Justin wouldn't be here. I really believe that." The doctors told Debbie that every second mattered with a brain hemorrhage. The mom wanted to find the driver and thank him for saving her son's life.

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At the time of the incident, 38-year-old Zvir was driving for Uber as a part of his side gig. He became an Uber driver last year while starting his own company, per PEOPLE. "We just started talking about music and stuff. And he mentioned that he [drove for] Uber as well. So we were just talking about that for a little bit," Zvir remembered. They were nearing the end of the trip when the driver noticed Anderson had started looking uncomfortable. "His head was kind of bobbing up and down, but he was still communicating. I was [like], 'Justin, you okay? Do you need anything?' I immediately rolled the windows down and blasted my A/C to try to see if it would make him feel a little better. But he was just getting worse and worse, and eventually he became unresponsive."

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Zvir called 911 and described Anderson's symptoms to the dispatcher, who told Zvir to give him CPR. Thankfully, he knew how to do it and immediately put Anderson in a proper position and started helping him. After 6 to 8 minutes, Zvir could hear the ambulance's sirens from a distance. Zvir got in touch with Debbie and hoped to meet Anderson once he gets better. "I definitely want to meet him. And I just want to make sure that he recovers. I actually texted his mother yesterday just to get an update on him. So I'm keeping in touch with his family and hopefully he pulls through."

A parked ambulance with open doors. Representative Image Source: Pexels | Nothing Ahead

Zvir felt that anybody in his situation would have done the same thing for a person. "I saw somebody needed help and I just helped. That's it." Through a GoFundMe, Debbie shared, "Had he been home alone, he would not be here today. Had he not been in the back of that Uber, he would not be here today." The mom shared that Anderson had shown quite some improvement since then, but recovery would still take some time.