SEATTLE — John Tsen was walking down Broadway by Union Street when he was hit from behind by a suspected DUI driver.
"As I was walking down, I felt a blast from behind my back. And then I was on the ground," Tsen said.
A car drove up onto the sidewalk, took out a Seattle City Light pole and crashed into Tsen. The crash happened on June 30 around 4:30 pm.
"My brain couldn’t move fast enough to process what happened," he said.
Many people rushed over to help Tsen, who was alone.
"There was a guy cradling my head and saying don’t move," he said. "My recollection is he’s the guy who was holding my head and saying he was an off-duty fireman."
There's one photo from the crash that captured all the Good Samaritans coming to Tsen's aid.
One of the men even made sure the driver stayed behind. Seattle police arrested the driver on suspicion of DUI.
"I hope he’s doing okay and is getting the type of care and treatment that he needs to make sure this doesn’t happen again," Tsen said.
Lying on the pavement underneath the pole, paramedics eventually took John to Harborview Medical Center. It’s a hospital he is very familiar with.
"Seeing the types of patient I see at Harborview, I was very fearful it could be a very bad outcome," Tsen said.
Tsen just finished his residency at Harborview for behavioral medicine. He is working to help patients through physical trauma. His last day at work wasn’t really his last day at Harborview.
"That was so ironic. Just like having the last day of work at Harborview and tearful goodbyes and later that day leaving," Tsen said. "It was a wild ride for sure."
Now Tsen wants to find the people who helped him that day. He wants to thank them for helping him and he wants to make sure they are okay too.
"Looking at the photo, I mean wow, I am so grateful for all these people who are still there and they stuck around. That really gets me. I’m really glad they were there and made sure I was okay," Tsen said.