Augusta, GA (WLTX) - A prayer and words of encouragement yelled from a bridge helped save a truck driver who plunged into a river.
Joe Stroman had to swim out of the cabin of an 18-wheeler after it skidded off the Interstate 20 bridge in Kershaw County earlier this month, and into the Wateree River, some 40 feet below.
Previous Coverage: Click here for the interview with Stroman.
While he was laying on the truck waiting for first responders, he says there was a voice coming from above that wouldn't let him give up.
"He kept telling me, 'sir if you could hear me move your arm, move your leg' and I did what he told me" said Stroman. "He kept me awake and he saved my life."
The man behind the voice has been identified thanks for the overwhelming response News19 got from our viewers about who it might be. An e-mail with a link to a Facebook video lead us to Fernando Brunch.
"God is with you Sir, we right here, we right here nothing is going to happen, you’re a strong man" is what Brunch was yelling to the barely responding body of Joe Stroman. The interaction was captured on the Facebook video.
As soon as Joe heard the voice on the video,he said, "yes! Yes! That's him! That's the man who saved my life."
It was the strength to fight for a life that brought these two men together. Perhaps that's appropriate; as it turns out, Bunch is a professional boxer from Augusta, Georgia who was in South Carolina on his way back from a match.
"I fight, I train hard and when it comes down to those kinds of situations, what would you do?," said Brunch during an interview with News19. "You fight, you don’t quit and that’s what Mr. Joe did."
"I’m seeing a man laying on top of his truck laying on a puddle of his own blood so I just did what my parents always taught me to do I prayed" explained Brunch.
Bunch lost his uncle to cancer and the day before the wreck he was buried in Florida. He wanted to make sure no other child was left without a father, like his cousins.
It was a combination of his faith and inner warrior that lead him to fight alongside Mr. Stroman.
Joe, Fernando and the response rescue team are all scheduled to meet next week. News19 will bring you to the reunion.
Note from reporter Sonia Gutierrez: Thank you to everyone who e-mailed me, if it wasn't for your participation we wouldn't have found that voice that saved Joe's life. This is your story.