Officer's quick actions save child's life in Pataskala

PATASKALA, Ohio (WCMH) — A Pataskala police officer is being credited with saving the life of a child who had cut an artery.

Officer Josh Buchberger always has tourniquets with him but had never had to use one before that day.

“Kind of just came out of nowhere, honestly; right place at the right time, really," he said about the Dec. 11 incident.

He was directing traffic in the Broad Street and Broadmoore Boulevard area where the road was closed because of a downed power line. A father came up to Buchberger saying he needed to get through because of his son's severely cut hand. The boy was in the backseat. Buchberger said he could tell it was serious based on the father's tone, then he saw the boy and hopped into action.

"When I approached the vehicle, I could see there was a lot of blood coming from the young man in the back seat and we probably had to do things then," Buchberger said. "When I was able to see that young man, it kind of heightened things and just time to go to work."

Even though it was Buchberger's first time using a tourniquet in an emergency, he said his training kicked in. In body-worn camera video, he can be heard introducing himself to the boy and calming him down. He even talked football with the child to help the boy's nerves.

“We were able to kind of make a common bond over his Browns jacket, talk about Jameis Winston and everything. Because who doesn't like to talk about Jameis Winston, and then after we did that we were able to get the blood flow stopping," Buchberger said.

Buchberger thought the boy cut an artery. After the tourniquet was on, the boy was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

The child's grandfather stopped by the Pataskala Division of Police the following day and said his grandson did in fact cut an artery. He also said Buchberger's actions saved his grandson's life. 

“It’s just rewarding honestly. It's great to serve this community. This community is exceptional, the people. And to know I was able to do something good for the community is kind of what you sign up to do," Buchberger said.

Buchberger said he has not been in touch with the child's family but said he heard from a medic who said the child is OK.