Calif. Postal Worker Helps a Man Who Accidentally Cut Himself with a Chainsaw: 'Everyday Hero'
[Oct. 13, 2020: Nicholas Rice]
A California postal worker is being praised as a hero for his quick thinking after he tended to a man who cut his arm with a chainsaw.
U.S. Postal Service mail carrier Fernando Garcia helped stop the injured man's arm from bleeding after he accidentally cut himself with the large tool in Norwalk, California, according to a Twitter post from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Norwalk Station on Friday.
Per CBSLA affiliate KCAL, Garcia was on his normal route in the area when he heard a call for help. After looking for the source of the screaming, Garcia said he found a man on the ground.
"When he turned around I saw that he was holding his left arm," Garcia told the outlet. "And he was just covered in blood."
In response, Garcia quickly wrapped the belt that he was wearing around the man's bleeding arm, where he secured it as tight as he could to maintain pressure on his wound.
Garcia told KCAL that he got the idea to use his belt as a tourniquet — a device for stopping the flow of blood through a vein or artery — from the movies. "[I] Looped it through the hole, put it around his arm, tightened it as best as I could, and just wrapped it up," he said. "And held it there as best as I could."
The victim, who has not been named, has only been identified as resident Juanita Cabral's brother. Cabral thanked Garcia for his heroic actions through KCAL.
The outlet also adds that after the victim was taken to the hospital, Garcia purchased a new shirt and belt and continued serving his daily mail route.
The LA County Sheriff's Department's Norwalk Station was so moved by Garcia's quick thinking that the department Watch Commander shared the tweet with a picture of Garcia and the belt he used to aid the man. According to KCAL, the belt has since been discarded due to the blood that was on it.
"When I first heard that story, I said, 'Hey that’s a great tweet,'" Lt. Pauline Panis told the outlet. "I think we should let everybody know that anyone can make a difference, from kids to adults, and it’s a good story. And it’s a heartwarming story."
The Postal Service also reacted to Garcia's actions, telling CNN in a statement: "We are very proud of letter carrier Fernando Garcia and thankful for his swift, heroic action in helping a customer in dire need of assistance. Our postal carriers truly are the eyes and ears in the community."
CNN adds that the family of the injured man revealed that he was released from the hospital on Sunday and he is starting to regain movement in his hand, according to his niece, Kelsey Cabral.
This Brighter Side of News post courtesy of People.
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