“A hard working man, a man who wanted to fulfill his job even up to his last moments.”
This was how Sid Maderazo described on Sunday the Grab driver who died of heart attack near their residence.
According to the now viral post of Maderazo on Facebook, he booked a ride on Friday night on behalf of their family helper. The booking was accepted by driver Rudy Salvo.
At about 9:19 p.m., roughly 10 minutes after the ride was booked, Salvo made a phone call to ask Maderazo for specific directions to the pick-up point in a village in Pasig. The call lasted for about 30 seconds.
“His voice was unusual, his tone was slightly rude and his speech was very slurry and intelligible,” he said in his post. “Since I couldn’t understand a word he said, I hung up, slightly annoyed.”
After the call, Maderazo said he checked the location of Salvo in the app and learned that the driver was already at the village gate. He called Salvo again at 9:31 p.m., but the voice of Salvo got worse and inaudible, leading Maderazo suspect that the driver was drunk.
He said that Salvo suddenly stopped talking after a minute and hung up.
“Peeved and concerned about our Yaya’s safety, I cancelled the booking and got another Grab,” he said.
The following day, Maderazo learned that Salvo suffered a stroke in front of their village’s gate between 9 p.m. and 9:31 p.m.
Maderazo then called the number connected to Salvo’s account to ask about his condition and how he could help.
“I called his number and a woman answered the phone, I explained who I was, and that I wanted to know if he was OK and if I could assist in any way. The woman said, ‘Wala na po si Papa…,'” Maderazo said.
Maderazo told INQUIRER.net that the incident affected him as he had judged the Grab driver.
“I was floored when I heard about the heart attack. Then later that day when the daughter said he passed, I was really affected,” he said.
Maderazo added that the guards on duty on Friday night also shared that Salvo was holding his rosary minutes before he lost consciousness.
“He was trying to unlock his phone, maybe desperately trying to call his family one last time until he fell unconscious,” he recounted.
Maderazo said that he was got upset by the alleged treatment Salvo reportedly received from the paramedics who responded to the emergency situation.
“I was just upset when I heard that ambulance arrived an hour after and that the paramedics had to look for his wallet in the car, while the man was unconscious, hence further delay,” he said.
Maderazo claimed that the search for Salvo’s wallet was intended to check if he has money for the hospitalization bill.
“There’s a huge lesson here — don’t be too quick to judge, and be more patient to people who seem different, they might be going through something or fighting a battle we don’t know about,” he said.
Those who wish to extend some financial assistance to Salvo’s family may contact +63 (995) 904-8399.
The information was made available with the consent of the bereaved family, according to Maderazo. /ee