Dover, Florida – For 18-year-old Strawberry Crest High School student David Nieves, Monday, October 12 started out like most other school days. He attended classes, and by mid-day, he was feeling normal and eating lunch in the school’s cafeteria. The next thing he remembers is being put into an ambulance.
Nieves had experienced a seizure and had stopped breathing. Fortunately for him, Deputy Pedro Colon of Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office was on-hand and saved Nieves’ life, reports the Plant City Observer.
Immediately after Nieves became unconscious, Strawberry Crest’s principal and assistant principal were providing aid to him, checking his air passages and breathing. Colon started CPR until the student could breathe again on his own.
EMS soon arrived at the scene and took Nieves to a local hospital.
The incident was captured on Colon’s body camera. Colon had just started at Strawberry Crest High this year but had been a school resource deputy (SRD) for 12 years.
This was the first seizure Nieves had ever experienced. By Thursday, he was back at school and thanked Colon for saving his life.
Campus Safety has previously reported on the importance of having staff who are trained to respond to student, staff and visitor medical emergencies. Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the most common types of emergencies experienced on campus.
