John Shear worked at Santa Anita Race Track for 50 years. On one fateful day at the track in 2011, the 90-year-old would become an unexpected hero. John spotted a runaway horse charging toward the barrier and straight towards a 5-year-old girl standing on the sidelines. That’s when he quickly acted to shield the girl from harm.
“I knew I was going to get hit,” John said. “I thought there was a possibility I was going to die but you cannot stop and think should I or shouldn’t I. There is a 5-year-old girl. I’m 90 years old. I have had a life. She hasn’t had a life. You got to save that life.”
John was hurt. He broke his pelvis and had internal bleeding and spent seven weeks in hospital. But that little girl? She’s alive because of what he did. She and the horse walked away without any injuries. In the video below, two years have past, and John is about to visit the girl he saved. Watch their touching reunion and what he has to say about what that moment has meant in his life.
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