PHOENIX — A worker for the Arizona Department of Transportation is being hailed a hero after he helped save an elderly couple from carbon monoxide poisoning, the department said.
According to the department, Jose Baeza was inspecting sweeper operations when he noticed a car at the gore point near a Loop 303 interchange ramp.
"Not all freeway emergencies look like crashes," ADOT wrote in a release. "Sometimes they look like a vehicle slowly drifting to where it shouldn’t be."
The department said the car had its brake lights on and when Baeza knocked on the driver-side window the elderly couple inside did not respond.
Baeza then put on his lights to warn traffic coming onto the on-ramp. ADOT said the driver woke up but seemed "confused and disoriented."
ADOT said the elderly woman was still unresponsive as Baeza advised the man to put the car in park, turn off the ignition and hand over the keys.
Baeza stayed with the couple until the Phoenix Fire Department and Department of Public Safety arrived, ADOT said. The two, according to ADOT, appeared to be suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
They were taken to a local hospital.
“We have CPR training to prepare for incidents like this, but this is the first time it’s ever happened to me,” Baeza said in a release. “I was nervous at first, but I stayed until the fire department and DPS got there, and I feel good about it. It could’ve been a lot worse.”
ADOT said the two have fully recovered.
