Med student reunites with woman he saved after I-75 crash

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Azra Muhic, left. Matt Dopps.

A woman nearly dies in a serious accident but a good Samaritan stops to save her life.

The hospital surgeon calls him a life-saver, the family is calling him a guardian angel and even the man himself, Matt Dopps, says he was there for a reason.

Dopps was on a serendipitous drive down I-75 from Royal Oak heading to Detroit Saturday morning when the sport utility vehicle in front him, lost control.

"It fishtailed, lost control and went headfirst into the median," he said. "And flipped over twice."

Azra Muhic a recent graduate of Hamtracak High School, was in the passenger seat of that SUV.

"When it flipped over, somehow her arm got out the window," Dopps said. "And when it slid, her arm was underneath."

Muhic posted a photo on her Facebook page taken just moments before the crash.

"There were three of us and we lifted this SUV off the ground," Dopps said. "She was able to get her arm free and crawl out the back."

But the danger was far from over.

"With each heart beat there was a spray coming from her artery," he said. "I knew it was a critical situation."

Dopps is a medical student and knew at the rate she was losing blood, she had seconds to live.

"I used both my hands and reached around and made sure I found the artery," Dopps said. "And I included it, so that I saw the flow of blood stop.

"She kept looking at what was left of her arm and she kept asking me 'Am I going to lose my arm?'

"It was breaking my heart, because I knew that she was. There was very little of her arm left at that point."

And it remained that way until help arrived.

"The doctors told them that I saved her life," Dopps said. "She would have bled to death."

His work was done, but he felt compelled to find her again.

"I think I would feel better once I found out if she was going to be okay," he said.

And he did meet up with her Monday afternoon.

"She recognized me and we both just broke down and cried," Dopps said. "We had some nice moments. I was able to give her a hug.

"The family said that they now consider me a part of their family."

A family that is forever grateful the right person was following just behind them on the highway.

"She must have had a guardian angel that day that put me in that spot at that moment," she said.

Now other angels of sorts are being sought. Medical bills are mounting so the family set up a GoFundMe account to help in the recovery. Click the link to donate.

The teen has already undergone two surgeries and is scheduled for one more and will be fitted with a prosthetic arm.

Dopps suffered a back injury from lifting the SUV but says he was just happy to be in the right spot at the right time.