If Taylor hadn't been there ...

By Ben Holman

Nevada Daily Mail

On Saturday afternoon Phillis Fleener, of Nevada, took herself out for an ordinary lunch, but the outing turned extraordinary when she ended up having an unfortunate accident on the way home.

Fleener is a 69-year-old diabetic and is unable to walk, so she travels around her neighborhood in her electric wheelchair. She said that when she left her house she had remembered to fasten the seatbelt in her chair but had taken it off while she was eating.

After lunch, she left Grandma and Papa's Little Diner, forgetting to re-fasten the belt.

As she crossed the intersection of Central and Commercial, a sudden vision problem caused her to lose sight of her way for a moment. At first, she thought that she had been blinded by the sun, but a trip to the doctor Sunday made here aware of the possibility of a muscle spasm. Because she couldn't see where she was going, Fleener struck a curb and ended up falling out of her chair.

She was unable to get herself up and began calling out for help.

"I was sitting there on the grass and I called for help," she said. "Several people were looking out their windows but no one came out to help me."

Except one.

Taylor Hall, a 16-year-old Nevada resident, was sitting in his room across the street playing video games when he heard the calls for help.

"I heard someone calling for help and I thought it might be coming from the construction across the street. I though some kid might have gotten hurt and I ran outside to see what was wrong," said Hall.

When he got outside he saw Fleener sitting on the ground next to her wheelchair. Taylor said that he was the only one who came out to help.

According to Fleener, Taylor was unable to get her back into her chair by himself so he called for an ambulance.

"I stayed with her and talked to her until the ambulance came," said Hall.

The ambulance crew was able to get Fleener back into her chair and on her way, she did not suffer any injuries.

Fleener was so impressed by the actions of Hall, she was moved to contact the Daily Mail to tell the story in an effort to get Hall the recognition she feels he deserves.

"I hear stories about the things teenagers do these days and sometimes they don't get the credit they deserve," said Fleener. "Some of our teenagers here are very nice. I'm very pleased to get to meet him."

"I just want to thank him for what he did," said Fleener, who wanted to be sure that Nevada residents were aware of the high caliber of character she sees in many of the town's teens. "I could have sat there for hours if it hadn't been for him."

Hall is a junior at Nevada High School. He is a member of the cross country team, tennis team, and band.