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Officer Who Lost Legs In Crash Reunites With Those Who Saved Him

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - It was one year ago when Miami-Dade police Major Ricky Carter was involved in a motorcycle wreck that nearly took his life.

The quick actions of good Samaritans, EMS teams from Hialeah Fire Department and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, and the medical staff at Ryder Trauma saved him. On Monday, Carter reunited with them for the first time since the accident to thank them for saving his life.

"It's been tough, it's been a long road, hours and hours and hours of physical therapy, lots of pain, you know I know you did your best but I was in a lot of pain doc," he said with a grin as others in the room laughed.

Carter can joke now but it was a very different story a year ago.

He was riding his motorcycle on I-75, near Northwest 138th Street, when he lost control and crashed into a guardrail. He still has no recollection as to what caused him to lose control.

Thalia Rodriguez, an 18-year-old student, and Vianca Diaz, a nurse at the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, immediately stopped to see what they could do. They applied a tourniquet to control the bleeding which helped save his life.

"He was talking to me, he knew what had happened, he told me his name, he told me his age, I focused on his spine and just held his head there, I was there until rescue got there," said Rodriguez.

"I started asking him questions about his family just to kinda distract him. I asked him if he was married and he said yes, and I asked him for how long and said too long," said Diaz with a smile on her face. "That's when I knew everything was going to be fine."

Carter was then airlifted to Ryder Trauma, where he underwent surgery. His legs were badly mangled in the crash so surgeons amputated both legs.

After his release from the hospital, Carter underwent six months of rehabilitation. He was recently fitted into his new prosthetic legs and walked for the first time without any assistance at his daughter's graduation on May 3.

"There have been lots of dark moments, both emotionally and physically, but from the large support system I've have, my family and friends, they stood by and supported me and I was able to make a recovery," he said.

"It's really a testament to him and his vision and his strength and the whole team behind him, here to support him and it's been a real pleasure to see how successful he's been," Ryder Trauma Dr. Rishi Rattan.

Last year, Ryder Trauma Center kicked off its Stop the Bleed campaign which focuses on training the public on how to use different techniques to control bleeding, including the use of their hands, dressings, and tourniquets.

Uncontrolled bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death in trauma cases.

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