HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — This Thanksgiving, a HART bus operator and is spending the day with a good Samaritan who helped save him during a violent attack.
Police say the driver Schnaider Prophete was attacked by a passenger with a box cutter and mace on Nov. 19. John Phelps, another passenger on the bus, jumped in and put himself between the two.
"I’m glad that God allowed all of us to be here not at my wake or my funeral," Prophete said.
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Last weekend, the two met for the first time since the attack. Prophete and other bus operators surprised Phelps at his work.
The men, who were just strangers, quickly decided they weren't only friends now, but brothers.
Prophete invited Phelps to spend Thanksgiving with his family. Thursday, the two followed through on the invitation.
"I’m thankful he’s able to share that dinner with his family for the holidays. I’m kind of loss for a lot of things that have been happening as of late, it kind of caught me off guard," said Phelps. "But once again I feel that being that this guy is able to spend this kind of time with family it means a lot to me and his family as well."
Prophete said it was like a family reunion.
"To me a holiday is every day. Family is not a special day that you have to honor and celebrate. It happens to be today’s a holiday since we have to work and so on the opportunity came open," he said.
Now breaking bread together this holiday, they have new family and new thanks.
