AUSTIN, Texas — A state trooper who works in the Austin area is being recognized for helping save someone's life.
Sgt. Ted Riojas earned the Texas Department of Public Safety's Lifesaving Award for helping someone during a crash on Dec. 6, 2023.
DPS officials say before EMS responded to a car crash, Sgt. Riojas arrived and used a tourniquet on a driver who was hurt. The driver was experiencing significant blood loss from her left forearm, was incoherent and was drifting in and out of consciousness. Sgt. Riojas also applied Quik Clot to the wound, wrapping it with gauze and applying direct pressure, DPS said.
The efforts stopped the bleeding, and the driver became more coherent. DPS said he saved a life.
When EMS arrived on the scene, the driver was taken to a local hospital where she underwent emergency surgery for a torn radial artery.
Sgt. Riojas was presented with an award for it last week.
“The men and women recognized here today embody the Texas Department of Public Safety motto: courtesy, service, protection,” DPS Director Steven McCraw said at the award ceremony. “I am honored to recognize the courage and commitment of these awardees who have stepped up in service of their fellow Texans. Texas is safer – and brighter – because of them.”