Darby officers recall saving man's life during landscaping accident

DARBY BOROUGH, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- It was a race to save a life earlier this summer in Darby, Pennsylvania.

Police say a gentleman was working in a backyard to clear some debris from the front of a stump grinder when a piece of his clothing got sucked into the machine.

"As I arrived on scene, I was flagged down by a few workers saying, 'He's in the back.' And as I went to the back, I saw a male lying on the ground," recalled Darby Borough Police Officer Terrell Lee.

Out of respect for the victim, we've blurred his face.

Bodycam footage shows the tense and chaotic moments as Lee and Officer Shain McCaughey worked to stop him from bleeding out.

"We realize that time was of the essence. Given the severity, we both realized that we needed to move quickly and started applying life-saving measures prior to the ambulance getting there," said McCaughey.

And that's when a tourniquet was applied.

"Did the bleeding stop after you applied the tourniquet?" asked Action News' Christie Ileto.

"It seemed to me that it definitely slowed," replied McCaughey.

Lee said the man was conscious and alert the whole time.

"Unfortunately, he didn't speak any English, but you could tell he was in pain. He was in shock," he recalled.

Once medics arrived, Lee escorted the victim to the hospital.

In July, the town's mayor and council president honored both officers with a heroism award

The victim lost a limb, but his life was saved.

"The trauma surgeon told me whoever put this tourniquet on, he wouldn't have made it," said Lee.

"Police is a profession where we have to wear many hats at many times. Maybe one time we're going after the bad guy. Another day we're applying medical care until medics can get there. Again it's all part of what we do," said McCaughey.