Phoenix police say a 41-year-old man on a sidewalk pushed his wife to safety before he was fatally injured when struck by a vehicle.
Sgt. Jonathan Howard said Juan Mena-Brito was struck by a car that that veered onto a sidewalk after colliding with another vehicle in an intersection Sunday afternoon.
Howard said witnesses reported that Mena-Brito was able to push his wife out of the path of the oncoming car before it could strike her, likely saving her life.
"He is my hero for saving my life," Alma Soriano, Mena-Brito's wife, said. "And I love him and cherish him for the rest of my life."
The woman suffers from lupus and is on dialysis three days a week. The couple has two children together, ages nine and 16.
A second pedestrian on the sidewalk suffered minor injuries in the incident, and neither driver in the initial collision was seriously hurt.
Howard said police are investigating to try to determine how the collision occurred, but he said neither speed nor impairment appeared to have been factors.
