An off-duty police deputy is being hailed for saving the life of a 3-month-old baby named Kingston who was in dire need of medical attention.
The boy’s frantic mother, Nechole Crowell, had been driving through Ocala, Florida last week when she noticed that her infant son had suddenly stopped breathing for unknown reasons.
At the same time, K9 Deputy Jeremie Nix was driving home from work when he heard car horns blaring from the opposite lane. He turned to see Crowell anxiously waving him over and flagging him down for help.
After he pulls over behind Crowell’s car, Nix’s dashcam footage shows him taking hold of Kingston so he could perform CPR. Though he was able to get small gasps of air out of the boy, Nix was unable to get Kingston breathing steadily.
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With the chest compressions proving unsuccessful, Nix listened for the sound of ambulances, but heard nothing. He then made the life-saving decision to rush Kingston to the hospital himself.
It turned out to be the right decision, too – doctors say that if Kingston had not received medical attention when he did, he most likely would not have survived. But thanks to Nix’s quick thinking, they were able to resuscitate the boy and he has since made a full recovery.
Crowell was overwhelmed with gratitude towards Nix when she heard that her son would be okay.
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“I had so many emotions — I actually broke down while we were in the ER — and he said, ‘I’m gonna make sure they save your baby,’” Crowell told Inside Edition. “A few minutes later he came back to tell me [Kingston] was breathing and [Deputy Nix] was crying.”
Nix told WCJB: “There’s no question in my mind that God put me right where he needed me to be at the right time to help Kingston and Nechole. And He deserves the honor and the glory for it. And this guy, he’s our testimony right here and he will be for a long time.”
Nix’s employers have expressed their joy over the situation as well; the Marion County Sheriff’s Department wrote on Facebook: “We are tremendously proud of Deputy Nix and we can already see that he and Baby Kingston will have a deep connection that will last a lifetime!”
(WATCH the harrowing rescue below)
Share The Sweet Story Of Fate With Your Friends – Photo by Marion County Police Department