The quick actions of two Batesville Police Department (BPD) officers Sunday night saved the life of a teenager who accidentally slashed the main artery in his inner thigh.
Around 9:50 p.m. Sunday, June 3, a young woman called dispatch to report her boyfriend had accidentally stabbed himself in the parking area of McDonald’s in Batesville and was losing a lot of blood and was unconscious, according to the police report.
Vital Link ambulance was on its way when BPD patrolman Trevor Graddy arrived first and was in the process of applying a Combat Application Tourniquet to the victim’s right leg. The tourniquet was not tightening properly, according to Graddy, and he called for another one.
Knowing it was important to stop the bleeding and get the young man to the hospital as quickly as possible, another officer, Rob Leonard, arrived with another tourniquet. It was applied to the 17-year-old’s right leg, stopping the bleeding.
The girlfriend told the patrolmen her boyfriend was playing with his large knife, and when he tried to place it back in its sheath, he accidentally stabbed himself in the right thigh, hitting the main artery, according to the Batesville Police Chief Alan Cockrill.
Cockrill said due to the loss of blood, the young man lost consciousness.
Officers tried but couldn’t find a pulse as the ambulance arrived and took the young man to the White River Medical Center.
Surgeons spent four hours in repairing the artery, according to Cockrill. Cockrill said he was told his officers’ quick actions saved the 17-year-old’s life.
The chief said he’s proud of the officers quickly doing what they had been taught when it’s necessary to apply a tourniquet on an injury that is causing a large amount of blood loss, adding the officers definitely made heroic efforts to keep the young man alive until doctors could perform needed surgery.
The surgery was a success, and the 17-year-old is expected to fully recover, according to Cockrill.
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