Fort Worth store manager reunites with woman he rescued from freezing cold: "He saved my life"
The woman whose life was saved from the dangerous cold and the Fort Worth store manager who rescued her were reunited on Thursday.
Surveillance video captured the moment the manager of Evans Food Mart rushed to rescue his customer, Bobbi Burrell, out of the cold.
"I didn't think anyone was going to help at first, or could hear me," Burrell said.
Burrell says last Friday was her 50th birthday. She was trying to get to a warming shelter, but said it had closed.
She said she was out in the cold all night Friday into Saturday morning. Just before freezing rain and sleet started to fall, the manager at Evans Food Mart found her frozen on the street. He was the only one strong enough to lift her.
"So I couldn't stand up, couldn't walk," said Burrell. "I started crawling through the ice to try to get some help, without my shoes on. I just couldn't get them on. So I left my hands and feet, just my body frozen."
That's when Faris Hussain stepped in.
Fort Worth store manager helps save homeless woman found frozen outside
Faris Hussain, a manager at the store, said another regular customer rushed in Thursday morning after spotting Burrell on the ground.
Hussein said Burrel is a regular, coming in every day for the past 5 years.
"When I heard her name, it was one of my good customers, so I instantly was like, 'Hey man, no no no, there's no way. We gotta go help her right now,'" Hussain said.
Hussain ran outside and lifted her himself.
"She felt like a rock, as stiff as a rock," he said. "I mean, it was, when I picked her up, her entire body was just, it was like, no matter which way you picked her up, her body was going to stay the same form."
The Fort Worth Fire Department confirmed crews responded and paramedics took Burrell to a hospital.
"Think about it," said Hussein. "It's like, God's watching her. She's been through a car accident just a few months before that; her birthday was the same, one night before it froze over. It's kind of like God's watching over you, like, 'No, we're gonna make sure you're good.'"
Burrell said she's thankful to everyone involved.
"Definitely with the prayers, you feel blessed that great things will happen," said Burrell. "And live all your life, go back to work and be off the street, and a big turn of events. Hopefully, to inspire others to help, you know, if somebody is screaming for help, help them.