Traveling Army veteran stops along highway and saves woman's life

A man traveling through Memphis from San Diego on his way to North Carolina made an unexpected and lifesaving stop on the interstate.

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Two weeks ago, Jacob Peden was driving on I-40 for the first time. He didn't think he would run into an emergency situation where someone would need his help.

Someone shot a woman on I-40 near the Warford exit. She pulled over and began to wave down drivers for help.

No one pulled over until Peden saw the woman on the ground.

“Apparently, her car got hit 10 times. She lost a lot of blood. I was actually pretty worried,” Peden said.

Peden is a U.S. Army veteran, and he said the incident put a pause on his travel from San Diego to Greenville, North Carolina.

On the day of the shooting, FOX13 got video of Peden walking with plainclothes officers on the scene.

Peden told FOX13 he stayed with the woman until first responders got there.

“I applied pressure to stop the bleeding. She was going into shock, so I told her to stay with me,” Peden said.

He said he doesn't know when he will pass through Memphis again but hopes the interstate is a lot safer.

No arrests have been made yet in that case, and police have not released any information regarding the shooter.

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