PORTSMOUTH, Va. - A mangled mess. That’s what 17-year-old Jaron Ratliff’s car looked like after a driver hit him crashed into him on Frederick Boulevard in Portsmouth September 17.
“I couldn’t see my eye. It was really bad. There was blood leaking. I couldn’t see at all.”
Jaron says he had the green light, put his foot on the gas and then...
“It felt like something heavy duty ran into me. It happened so fast. Something I didn’t expect. It was a very hard crash.”
News three spoke with Ratliff and his father last week while the I.C. Norcom high school senior was still recovering from his injuries.
“That was one of my biggest fears something happening to him and I not being there to protect him.”
But someone was there to help. Glenn Perry. He happened to be walking down the street and saw the crash. He helped Jaron out of the car and waited with him until the ambulance got there.
When we heard about Perry’s heroic deed, we decided to surprise him at the IHOP restaurant where he works. News 3 awarded him with a People Taking Action Award and our community partner Southern Bank awarded him with a $300 Visa gift card."
“This is awesome. This has never happened to me. I’m just excited right now. Thank you guys! Check me out check me out!" he said.
While he doesn’t think he did anything special, his workers tell me they are not surprised by Glenn’s kind deeds.
“He’s a blessing. He’s always there to listen to people when they need to talk. He’s always there to uplift people," one coworker said.
