Man hailed a hero for getting person away from freeway

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Mikal Shamsi covers a lot of miles and at all hours of the night.

He says he's phoned in hundreds of drunk drivers that he's spotted over the years.

The Pest Police expert was returning home around 4:45 a.m. Thursday when something caught the corner of his eye as he left the West Loop towards I-10 westbound.

"The cars are just flying through the curb," Shamsi said.

He went back around again with his dash camera rolling. He said his eyes hadn't deceived him. It was a person, a young man who was delusional.

He called 911 and found a place he could pull over.

"Sure enough, he's in the road in a trance, doing this just, staring up at the sky," said Shamsi.

The man had walked into the road so Shamsi pulled him to safety. He said you could hear the man calling for his dad. His bare feet and hands were dirty. He had likely walked up the ramp.

"I had to swing him over and pull him off the freeway and that's when he fell over and was uncontrollably crying," said Shamsi.

He later learned the young man's family had been searching for him. He said he believes he was there for a reason.

"People have been calling me an angel and hero. I'm a Houstonian being a Houstonian. I think we all have that in us to help one another. I hope he gets the help he needs," said Shamsi.

Shamsi visited the man in the hospital later Thursday and said he was in good spirits. He said he couldn't sleep just thinking about the whole incident. The man has been released from the hospital and is recovering with family.