The man who rushed a wounded David Ortiz to hospital after the Boston Red Sox legend was shot has described driving his Rolls Royce at 174mph and clipping other cars on the way.
On Sunday night, business owner Eliezer Salvador was tasked with delivering the future Hall of Famer to hospital moments after the 10-time All-Star was shot during an assassination attempt at Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Calm and collected like the 43-year-old had been in so many moments over his 20-year career in the majors, Salvador helped Big Papi into the front passenger seat of his sports car and raced the former baseball star to a hospital.
Eliezer Salvador has been lauded as 'one of our guardian angels' by David Ortiz and his family after the business owner rushed former Boston Red Sox star to a hospital
David Ortiz and his family have expressed their gratitude to a quick thinking Eliezer Salvador, who came to the wounded former major leaguer's side after he was nearly killed at a lounge in the Dominican Republic
Eliezer Salvador said he was driving his Rolls Royce at 174mph and clipping other cars on the way to the hospital
Salvador recalled in a Thursday night interview with he topped at least 174 miles per hour and bumped into a few cars along the way.
'I never went below 93 [miles]. Not even in the elevated road.,' Salvador said.
'And when we got on a good road I hit 174, 155 [miles] per hour.'
He said he was the one who broke down in tears as he assured the baseball legend that everything would be alright.
'I was crying. The one who was crying was me,' Salvador said. 'I was the one who said, "Papi Papi, PaPi." And [David] said, "I'm here, I'm here." I said, "No, you're not going to die, we're going to get there, we're going to get there." But we stood firm. '
Eliezer Salvador safeguarded David Ortiz's jewelry after the Dominican baseball legend was shot Sunday
Salvador was seated near Big Papi in the lounge's sidewalk seating area when Rolfy Ferreyra, who Dominican authorities have identified as the shooter, approached from behind and allegedly fired one shot at an unsuspecting Ortiz.
Salvador, the owner of Presidente Sports, a betting parlor in Santo Domingo, immediately rushed to Ortiz's side as guests started running for cover.
The adrenaline immediately took over as he took on the responsibility of lifting the 6-foot-3 Ortiz from the pavement and to his vehicle while the murder suspects were still in the area.
Eliezer Salvador recalled that he and David Ortiz debated over which medical facility was best for