It was the night of June 20th, when officers raced to this vehicle crashed along the median on Veterans’ Memorial Bridge. When they arrived, there were two other people already there, not in uniform that ended up saving a life. Sherrard graduate, Mike Baugh and his friend were in the right place at the right time.
“We went up to the window and saw he was collapsed towards the center and the instinct was just to call 911,” Baugh says. “It was just instinct.”
That call lead police to Walter Bailey who had suffered a heart attack and was unconscious.
As officers started CPR, you can see Mike kneeling down with the defibrillator that was used to restart Walter’s heart.
“I wasn’t calm at all. I was scared; I have never been in anything like this before,” Baugh shares.
Officers say they are trained to take calls like the one on Veterans Memorial Bridge that night, but they never know how the calls will end.
“You don’t normally get this great outcome because it's normally too late but in this case it they called right away and it worked out great for everyone,” Sgt. Derek Radosevich.
And finally Walter had a way to pay them back. He presented the men with a Life Saving Award on behalf of the Milan Police Department.
Walter expressed his appreciation by saying, “What I have to say is I have good guardian angel and my creator and I thank them most of all. I have to thank also the people that were working on me.”
This was the first time Walter was able to meet the men that saved his life.
Baugh says, “I’m just glad the guy made it, the award doesn’t really matter. It’s just icing on the cake.”
It was a chance encounter on the side of the road, none of them will forget.