PHOENIX — A Valley man came close to death when the cement truck he was driving toppled over and trapped him inside. But a chance encounter with a local nurse coming home from her shift pulled him back from the brink.
The man's truck rolled off the on-ramp to State Route 143 near Sky Harbor Boulevard Wednesday morning, pinning him inside the cab and seriously injuring his foot and leg.
Valleywise Health nurse Leigh Ann Sondrup had wrapped up her shift and was driving home when she came across the crash.
“He told me, 'I’m going to die.' And I said, 'No, you’re not. Not today. You’re not going to die today,'" Sondrup told 12News.
When she saw that the driver was bleeding out, she flew into action.
“There were some other bystanders and men that were there. I called out for a belt. Somebody got me a belt and I applied the belt as a rough tourniquet,” Sondrup said.
The tourniquet helped stop further blood loss until first responders could arrive. They removed the man from the truck and took him to Valleywise Health where he is in stable condition, officials said.
“As a nurse, there are days when it’s calm. I was really hoping that today was going to be one of those days,” she claimed.
But her path home put her in the right place at the right time to save a life.
“I’m a believer when it’s your time to go, it’s your time. But it wasn’t his time. Not yet,” she added.
The crash echoed another moment in Sondrup's life; When a car crash in Tempe killed both of her parents.
Back then, she was comforted by the people who raced to try and save their lives.
“Even the boy who caused the crash ran over and tried to help. For that, I’ll always have a sweet spot in my heart for him,” she said.
But Sondrup wants the world to know that anyone can help.
“There’s a Stop The Bleed class that’s available that can help save lives,” she says.
Stop The Bleed is a University of Arizona Emergency Medical Services program that teaches people how to properly apply a tourniquet, alongside other lifesaving first aid skills. The program is open to anyone, and the 90-minute courses are full of hands-on practice and expert instruction.
“I didn’t have a fancy tourniquet," Sondrup said. "I used a belt. These are all things that anyone can learn to do”
It's proof that you don't need to put on hospital scrubs to save a life. All it takes is the right time, the right place, and the knowledge to help.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The driver is expected to recover.
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