Emergency responders say a 66-year-old motorcycle rider is still alive because of the swift action of a Port St. Lucie High School student.
"I just took charge," said Robert Golden, a senior at Port St. Lucie High School. "I saw nobody else was doing it and I had to do something about it.”
"He’s a hero," said Port St. Lucie Police Master Sgt. Frank Sabol. "We’re going to attribute his actions to saving this victim’s life."
Golden,18, was on his way home from school Thursday when he saw a crash unfold at Lennard Road and Walton Road in Port St. Lucie. A PT cruiser and motorcycle collided.
“I saw the motorcyclist go up in the air and slam down on the ground," Golden said.
The motorcycle rider’s leg took the brunt of the force.
"From his shin down, it was separate from his body and he was bleeding out pretty bad," he said.
Golden turned to some medical lessons his father has been doing with him for the last several years, including learning how to apply a tourniquet.
"He did a simulation. He told me to always go 3 or 4 inches above the injury or the site of blood flow and make it as tight as you can, so that’s what I did."
Golden convinced someone nearby to give him his belt.
“I took the gentleman’s belt and applied a tourniquet to the man’s leg," he said. "I continued pulling until the blood flow reduced a lot.”
Paramedics soon arrived to take the man to the hospital, but they’re calling 18-year-old Golden the hero.
“They said that this was a critical, critical, possibly fatal injury if this young man had not taken action," Sabol said.
“This just goes to show what a student can do," said Adrian Ocampo, principal of Port St. Lucie High School.
Golden said he doesn't think of himself as a hero. He simply did what he knew was right.
"He was slipping in and out of consciousness it seemed,' he said. " His first question was to call his wife. He asked to call his wife. He asked if he was going to live. I said, 'Yea, you're going to live. You’re going to be fine.'"
After saving someone else’s life, Golden got a glimpse of what he may be destined to do with his own. He plans to attend Indian River State College next year.
“I was going to study criminal justice, but I think yesterday might’ve changed that into being a paramedic," he said. "Life is probably the most valuable thing on earth. No matter who it is, I’ll help.”
This actually wasn't the first time Golden has stepped in to help during an emergency. He did the Heimlich maneuver on a man choking at a restaurant this summer and he also helped a classmate after he fainted.
PSL police say a 17-year-old St. Lucie High School student was driving the car that collided with the motorcycle.
They say the motorcycle rider had his leg amputated.
An investigation into the crash is still ongoing.