Only on 10: Fall River man meets strangers who saved his life

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WJAR) — A Fall River man is thanking a group of good Samaritans and first responders who helped save his life after suffering a serious head injury.

Keith Brandis said he's still trying to identify several other people who rushed to help.

"I want to meet everyone and shake all their hands," Brandis told NBC 10 News Thursday. "Because without them, I don't know where I would be."

Brandis, who is paraplegic, said he was trying to get into his handicap accessible van outside of Rite Aid on Pleasant Street Monday, when something went wrong with his ramp.

He said he fell backward and hit his head on the pavement.

"I just remember waking up and thinking I was dead, literally," Brandis said.

Kane Chandler, a Rent-A-Center employee, said he saw the fall and immediately ran to help.

He said about eight other people rushed over to Brandis, who was laying on the ground bleeding from his head.

"We helped him up onto his wheelchair, kept the pressure on his head so he wouldn't keep bleeding out because he was bleeding pretty bad," Chandler said.

Fall River Paramedic James Guilmett was part of the rescue crew that arrived minutes later. He continued to take care of Brandis all the way to Rhode Island Hospital, where he received staples and stitches in the back of his head.

He credited the quick work of the bystanders.

"The bystanders holding the towel on his head was huge for us," Guilmett told NBC 10. "They were holding his neck so he wasn't moving around. He does have an extensive history of back and neck problems, so that was helpful because he had told the people that beforehand and they relayed it to us."

On Thursday, Brandis got the chance to meet Guilmett and his crew and thank them for their help.

Brandis, a former firefighter and paramedic, is still suffering from a concussion. He's asking anyone who may have helped that day to come forward so he can "shake hands" and say thank you.