HE SURVIVED!
by Josie Lewis
One year ago, Samuel L. Uniot was just your average 47 year old man. He had a wife and two daughters, one 19 and one 15. Now, Mr. Uniot is just thankful to be alive.
one year earlier
Sam walked out of his apartment door in downtown Minneapolis around 6:30 am. He remembers having an unusual feeling of dread as he went out flag a taxi cab for his ride to work. Maybe it was the weather, a kind of gray haze filled the air around him. It was a cloudy morning, and rain was in the forecast. Finally, a cab pulled over and Uniot climbed in to find an older-looking cab driver, maybe in his 60's .
The day planned ahead was important for Sam. He had an important meeting with the board members of his company and he wasn't really looking forward to it. What actually happened that day would affect him more than he would ever dream.
Today
We are interviewing Mr. Uniot. He winces just thinking about that day. The feeling of being alone in a completely demolished cab with the corpse of the driver and a cellular phone for 9 hours will forever be planted in his memory. He tells ISI News he still wakes up some nights in a cold sweat from the nightmares.
one year earlier
Samuel's office was halfway across town, a forty-five minute drive in the morning traffic. The cab driver suggested they takes a few smaller streets in the city to avoid the traffic, which was becoming heavier as they neared. The driver turned on to a street unfamiliar to Uniot. From the backseat, he watched the scenery of this part of town. The rescuers on the scene suspected this might have been one reason why Uniot didn't notice when the cab driver slumped over the steering wheel because of what was later decided to be a heart attack.
Today
Sam tells ISI that he was just watching the trains approaching. He naturally expected the driver to stop, not thinking for a moment that anything was wrong. He began to feel slightly nervous when the car neared the tracks and had not slowed at all. He remembers thinking as the trains hit his cab from both sides that he would be on time for his meeting.
one year earlier
The impact of the trains crunches the car, pinning Uniot inside, still alive. Horrified witnesses called the paramedics soon after seeing the morbid scene. They arrived at the scene about a half hour later. That is when the rescue began.
The car was hit from both sides by opposite traveling trains. The car was smashed, and Uniot was pinned in the middle protected the car seats and the corpse of the driver. Rescuers worked an agonizing hours to remove the car from around Uniot. Their only communication was a cellular phone Uniot carried in his pocket. People in the Minneapolis area could hear his desperate screams for help on the midday news.
Today
Samuel Uniot was pulled out of the cab at 4:00 pm that day. He suffered four broken ribs, several serious cuts, and paralysis from the waist. After four months of physical therapy, Uniot can walk with a cane. Today, Uniot still bears several emotional and physical scars. His family has helped him through much of it along with a support group he attends every two weeks. He tells ISI he will always remember what it was like and will always be thankful to be alive.
Back to ISI News Home