A good Samaritan saved the life of a young girl who was critically injured when a car crashed into her home Saturday in New Salem, New Hampshire.
Police have determined the driver responsible for the crash, 30-year-old Scott Dowd, was intoxicated and speeding at the time of the incident, according to CBS Boston.
Authorities received multiple 911 calls about the crash and found Dowd pinned in the car when they arrived on the scene Saturday afternoon. Five-year-old Giuliana Tutrone was hurt inside the home as well, according to a statement by the Salem Police Department.
“I was in complete panic,” Joseph Tutron, the girl’s father, told CBS Boston. “I didn’t know what to do.”
Before striking the house, Dowd hit a mailbox and snapped a piece of its granite post off with it. The granite was launched through the home and hit 5-year-old Giuliana, her father said.
“It went through my house, hit my daughter, went through the office door, went across our foyer, to the other side of the house,” Tutrone said, according to CNN.
Scott Demers happened to be nearby fixing sprinklers when he heard the 2019 Acura RDX veer into the home. He rushed over to help after hearing Tutrone’s screams that his daughter was killed, CNN report4ed.
Demers saw blood squirting from an artery in Giuliana’s neck, and discerned the little girl was still alive. Immediately, he took off his shirt and pressed it firmly against the wound.
Despite having no previous medical experience, the doctor on the scene said Demers acted properly.
“When the doctor came over, he asked me, let me see the neck,” Demers said according to CNN. “I said no way. It’s squirting, He said don’t move your hand at all.”
Demers very likely saved the girl’s life. (RELATED: 4-Year-Old, Two Others, Die In Car Crash With Suspected Drunk Driver)
“I don’t have the most inviting appearance sometimes,” Demers said. “Heroes don’t always wear capes, I guess.”
Giuliana was medflighted Tufts Medical Center in Boston and underwent emergency surgery to repair the artery, a broken jaw, and several facial cuts, CNN reported. She is expected to make a full recovery and left the hospital Tuesday.
Dowd was charged with first-degree assault, aggravated driving while intoxicated and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon. He was arrested Wednesday.
An arraignment will take place in Rockingham Superior Court at a later date, CNN reported.