HOULTON, Maine — It was, 17-year-old Tyler Fitzpatrick admitted, the most “gruesome” thing he had ever seen.
His friend was sprawled out in front of him after being ejected through the windshield after a car accident, his leg severely broken and nearly severed, with the bone sticking out of his foot.
And even though the CPR certification card had not yet arrived in the mail, Fitzpatrick recalled the training he had learned just a short time before the accident. Those steps, including stopping the bleeding and making a tourniquet, saved both his friend’s leg and his life.
For his actions, Fitzpatrick was honored last week with a Real Heroes Award by the American Red Cross in Caribou.
Fitzpatrick said that the November 2015 accident took place on the ‚ÄãBates Hill Road in Linneus. His friend, who suffered the leg injury, was driving Fitzpatrick’s vehicle, and four other people also were in the full-size extended cab pickup. It went off the road, down an embankment and rolled over.
Fitzpatrick, who attends Houlton High School, said he had taken a CPR certification course for a class he needed to take.
“The minute I saw my friend I knew he was badly hurt,” he said. “I had to run back to the truck and find my phone, and I told my friend to call for help. And then it was like everything in that course just instantly clicked. I made a tourniquet for my friend’s foot, and then wrapped it and elevated it and kept him calm until help arrived.”
