Rain was pounding on Cpl. Patrick Mumaw’s windshield as he drove along a remote stretch in eastern Collier County shortly after midnight when he spotted a vehicle in some woods near the road.
Mumaw became suspicious and radioed for back-up units to assist him.
Cpls. Lazarito Santos and Carlo Llorca responded to the area off Camp Keais Road. The three deputies got out of their vehicles and ventured into the heavy rain and lightning to investigate.
The vehicle appeared to have been in an accident. As the deputies went farther into the woods they found a woman lying on the ground in distress.
The deputies immediately began administering aid.
Through their actions, the woman’s life was saved.
Mumaw, Lazarito and Llorca’s efforts that stormy night on Sept. 30, 2008, were recognized during a ceremony Monday at which Sheriff Kevin J. Rambosk presented them with a CCSO Lifesaving Award.
The woman had been involved in a single-vehicle crash which caused her to be thrown about 30 feet.
When deputies found her she was unconscious, her pulse was weak and she was having trouble breathing. Deputies believe she’d been there about an hour.
Cpls. Mumaw and Llorca attempted several times to wake her up to no avail.
When Llorca noticed she was beginning to vomit and choke, the deputies positioned her on her side and cleared her airway, which they maintained until paramedics arrived and took her to a hospital.
