Hall of Fame: Police sergeant saves woman’s life

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - When Sgt. Tomas Santiago rushed to the Food Lion Shopping Center in Andrews one hot August night, he found a man slapping a woman in a car trying to wake her up.

It didn’t work.

The man said the woman had overdosed on heroin.

So, the man and Sgt. Santiago took her out of the car and stretched her out on the ground. Santiago realized he didn’t have much time left to save her- she wasn’t breathing and her lips were turning blue-so he began CPR right away.

He used hard and fast chest pumps to try to pull her back from the brink of death.

”We revived her the first time and a couple of minutes later we lost her again," Santiago said."I tried it the second time and kept doing that until she was breathing again.”

Santiago was able to keep the woman alive by continuing CPR until an ambulance arrived.

Thanks to the sergeant, the woman survived.

That’s why Andrews Police Officer Tomas Santiago is the newest member of the Live 5 Hall of Fame.

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