Utility Workers Honored for Herorism
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Dec 3, 2009, 0 Comments
Courtesy Xochitl Mora,
Everyday heroes, that was how City of Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas and Utilities Director Tomas Rodriguez referred to four City of Laredo Utilities employees who recently went above and beyond the call of duty and helped to save the life of a little baby. Marco Sanchez, Utilities Crew Leader; Mario Valdez, Utilities Heavy Equipment Operator; Francisco Gaspar, Heavy Truck Driver; and Gilberto Juarez, Utilities Maintenance Worker, demonstrated the quality of employee, of citizens, of human beings they were when confronted with a situation no parent would ever hope to be in.
On November 20, 2009, while the Utilities crew was on their way to their respective work site, they were waved down by a young man in another vehicle. A yound lady got off the vehicles, holding a baby girl in her arms, crying, “My baby is dying!” The baby was turning blue, apparently by something obstructing the air flow. Valdez removed the baby from the woman’s arms and gave the baby to Gaspar. Valdez called 9-1-1, requesting an ambulance. Valdez followed the instructions from the 9-1-1 operator, while Gaspar applied the life saving steps to the baby. Gaspar helped the baby induce vomiting, clearing the airway to allow the baby to begin breathing normally. Meanwhile, Sanchez and Juarez were calming the mother down and holding back the crowd of people that started to gather.
Clearly, for these four workers this was not a typical day at the office. Salinas and Rodriguez both stated how proud they were to have these men working for the City of Laredo. The men, as modest as possible, thanked God for putting them there at that moment, and for the instructions from the 9-1-1 operator who allowed them to save the baby’s life. Their only hope is to be able to give the baby a Christmas gift they bought her.
