FHP Trooper, Police Officer Help Save Crash Victim's Life
MIAMI (CBS4) -- Dramatic dash cam video shows a Florida Highway Patrol trooper saving a man's life on the highway as he uses CPR.
Yudiel Santana, who's been a trooper for three years, says "it's part of the job."
While he is being modest, trooper Joe Sanchez says he expects that Santana will be nominated for Trooper of the Month.
It was 12:22 last Saturday afternoon when Santana got a call that 32-year-old Kareem Shaker was in a single-car accident in his Mercedes on Eastbound 195 just before the Miami Avenue exit.
"I got a call about this and thank God I was in the area," Shaker told CBS4's Peter D'Oench. "It's part of the job. It's lucky for the guy that I was around the area. God used me to save a guy's life. He gave him a 2nd opportunity. I wasn't thinking about anything. I just reacted to it. I didn't Have time to think."
When Santana arrived at the scene, he was told that Shaker had no pulse and was not breathing.
So Santana had to act quickly.
"I looked at his chest and saw that there was no motion and no air coming out. I raised one of his hands and then I moved his left hand and got him out of the car and then a good Samaritan came around and helped perform CPR."
He then put Shaker on his side.
"We didn't feel comfortable about this," said Santana. "We felt we lost him again so we put him on his back and performed CPR again."
Santana also credits police Officer Tino Surano with helping him on the highway.
Trooper Sanchez said, "This is a perfect example of the fact that we not only write tickets but we do save lives," he said. "At the end of the day, this is what we are trained for, how we react to these situations."
Santana is modest about his actions.
"For me a hero is someone who gives his life for the nation, someone who takes heroic actions to help people with special needs," he said. "For me those are the kinds of heroes."
Shaker was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he has since been treated and released.
Shaker is a freelance reporter for the "Miami New Times" newspaper.
