Uber driver gives college student a lifesaving ride: ‘She stopped breathing in the back of my car’

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT/Gray News) - An Uber driver was in the right place at the right time to give a college student a lifesaving ride to the hospital.

For Uber driver Shauntez Allen, Valentine’s Day was supposed to be filled with couples celebrating the holiday, but one encounter changed everything, KAIT reports.

Arkansas State University student Mary Mashburn did not feel well. Due to an existing health issue, doctors told her to go to the hospital if she ever had a fever, so she called an Uber.

“I knew I wasn’t feeling well enough to drive myself, but at the time, there was nothing really emergent. I was not showing signs of any life-or-death situation at the time I called for the Uber,” Mashburn said.

When Allen arrived to pick up Mashburn, she instantly knew something was off. She could hear the college student struggling to breathe, so Allen decided to take her straight to the hospital. The only thing Mashburn could do was nod.

“Breathing was really loud at first, and then, it got so shallow that it was barely above a whisper. She was, to me, fading away, and I was just like, ‘Lord, please keep me calm enough to get her where she needs to be,’ so I could try to at least save her. I was trying my best,” Allen said.

On the trip to the hospital, Mashburn’s breathing continued to fade.

“Basically, she stopped breathing in the back of my car. I had to scream her name, ‘Mary, wake up!’ I am clapping, screaming, hollering, ‘Hey, I need you to get up. Wake up. Wake up,’” Allen said.

Mashburn went into anaphylactic shock. Allen called ahead and told the hospital they were on their way.

Once there, Allen went inside and told them she needed help because Mashburn was barely breathing.

Doctors put Mashburn on a ventilator for a few days. Allen would call in to check on the college student until she was finally able to go in and see her.

“When she looked at me, I said, ‘Do you remember me?’ and she said yes,” Allen said. “I wanted to cry right then, but I didn’t. To see that she remembered me and to know who I was and for her to thank me and reach out to me like she was a baby... We held hands until she dozed off.”

Mashburn doesn’t believe any other situation would have kept her alive.

“Without her, I probably wouldn’t have made it,” Mashburn said. “I have never dealt with any kind of anaphylactic issues before, so it was completely random. I don’t think an ambulance would have made it in time.”

Allen continued to see Mashburn in the hospital, and now that she is out and has moved back in with her parents, the two still stay in touch.

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