JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A terrifying moment was caught by cameras at the Safari Discount Beverage store on Jacksonville’s northside. It shows Joseph Odiwo getting hit by an SUV.
“Next thing I know I was pinned to the ground,” he described.
Odiwo says he was walking his dog Zaria Monday night and decided to stop at the gas station to use the ATM. He and his dog were both hit as he was trying to untie Zaria.
“My dog just looked at me and died right there,” Odiwo said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says the two people inside the SUV were shot nearby and drove into the parking lot to get away. They had non-life threatening injuries and were charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Odiwo was taken to the hospital for a broken ankle. He says his dog placed himself between him and the SUV likely keeping Odiwo from having more severe injuries.
“They said I missed my blood vessels and tendon by very little. So, if it had gone the other way, I might not have been able to walk again,” Odiwo told First Coast News.
Odiwo calls the gas station employee who pushed the SUV off of him a hero.
He is trying to stay upbeat despite still being in pain – not only physically but emotionally after losing his best friend for what he considers inexcusable violence.
“There has to be different ways of solving conflict. I don’t understand why the first decision of people make when there is a little conflict is to turn to violence,” he said.
JSO has not said if there had been any arrests from the original shooting incident.