Jerry Parr, Secret Service agent who saved Ronald Reagan, dies at 85

The Secret Service agent credited with saving former President Ronald Reagan's life died Friday at age 85. Retired agent Jerry Parr died Friday of congestive heart failure, according to his wife, Carolyn, The New York Times reports. Parr's last tweet was a photo of him with Carolyn:

When John W. Hinckley Jr. opened fire on Reagan on March 30, 1981, Parr shoved him into a limousine, jumped in on top of him, and instructed the driver to take off.

"When he was about probably six or seven feet from the car, I heard these shots," Parr said in 2013. "I sort of knew what they were, and I'd been waiting for them all of my career, in a way. That's what every agent waits for, is that."

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When Parr saw Reagan was spitting up blood from a bullet that struck him, he diverted the car to the hospital, where the president underwent surgery and returned to work 12 days later.

"Jerry was not only one of the finest Secret Service agents to ever serve this country, but one of the most decent human beings I've ever known," Reagan's widow, Nancy, told CNN on Friday. "He was humble but strong, reserved but confident, and blessed with a great sense of humor. It is no wonder that he and my husband got along so well."