(CNN) The man who drove former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz to the hospital after he was shot in the Dominican Republic described holding his hand in the car as they sped away from the scene in his SUV.

Ortiz was at a bar in Santo Domingo on Sunday night when a gunman shot him in the back at close range. The bullet went through his stomach, leaving him in serious condition, local authorities said

Eliezel Salvador was sitting nearby when the gunfire rang out, he said, and he bundled up the former baseball player into his own vehicle as he struggled to breathe.

They quickly headed to the hospital as he used one hand to drive and the other one to comfort Ortiz.

"I was driving fast. He said, 'I'm having trouble breathing' and I said 'that's normal,'" Salvador told CNN affiliate WBZ-TV . "I said, 'keep breathing and don't talk too much. Give me your hand.' I gave him my hand. I drove with one hand. We hit a few cars on the way but we got there."

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