It’s hard to predict a medical emergency – it could happen while you’re out shopping, dropping the kids off at school, or, in this woman’s case, while picking up a bite to eat.
The off-duty Miami-Dade police officer was waiting for her food at a Florida McDonald’s drive-thu when she fell unconscious.
Her car began rolling forward past the window, sparking concern in the employee who was serving her.
That employee’s name is Pedro Viloria, and he became the hero of the moment, quite literally jumping into action when he noticed the cop behaving strangely.
Pedro’s morning shift had begun like any other, with him serving customers through the drive-thru window when their food arrived.
But when he spotted the officer falling unconscious – with her two kids in the back seat – he acted fast.
Speaking to Inside Edition, he recalled:
“I told her, ‘One moment — let me give you your food,’ when I turned around… I figured she was having some sort of seizure or heart attack or something and that’s when I got really scared.”
The children, who had noticed what had happened, started to scream, and that’s what caught Pedro’s attention.
It appeared that the officer’s foot had lifted off the brake, causing her truck to start rolling forward.
Hearing the childrens’ terrified cries, Pedro wasted no time in leaping out of his drive-thru the window to rush to the car.
He said:
“I see the car move and I was really worried that they might crash into somebody or something. I thought if I don’t jump right now through the window, I won’t make it on time to try and stop the car.”
His main concern was that the kids would lose their mother, which he said would be “tragic”. But the only job he could focus on at that moment was getting the children to safety.
Once he arrived at the car, he managed to stop it, telling the officer’s kids in the back seat to call 911.
Luckily, medical professionals were nearby, and had started performing CPR on the woman while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.
Footage inside the restaurant also shows an off-duty fire rescue officer leaving the restaurant to attend to the situation.
After the ambulance arrived, the woman was taken to an area hospital, where she was reportedly in a critical position.
If it hadn’t been for Pedro, she may not have had the smallest chance of recovery.
His superhero actions also saved the children from what could have been a nasty accident. It was lucky that the woman’s foot only slid off the brake, and didn’t press down on the accelerator, which could have resulted in a much deadlier situation.
Despite saving the day, Pedro said that he doesn’t see himself as a hero – and if he is, then so are the others involved with helping the woman.
He added:
“If it would have taken two or three minutes longer, it could have been worse for her. If we all constantly have in mind that we can do this type of stuff for everyone, I believe that more people will react properly to emergency situations. We need to remember that we are all heroes.”
You can watch the inspiring moment that Pedro leaps out of the window and saves the day just below.
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