A teenager credited with saving the life of a biker says he learned the skills he used from television and films. "I picked most of that stuff up from watching TV and the movies," said O'Banion, 17 of Springfield. Following a crash, O’Banion and his friends John Haggard, Jessie and Amanda Garoutte, ran into the field where the victim, Kyle Hancock was lying. His leg had been severed and he was bleeding to death.
O'Banion put to work skills acquired from action-adventure movies and other shows by asking Haggard for his shirt, which O'Banion used to apply pressure on Hancock's severed leg to slow the blood flow. O'Banion also removed Hancock's belt and looped the leather strap around his thigh and kept twisting until it was tight enough to seal off the blood flow.
To stop Hancock choking on his own blood, the Garouttes kept hjis head tilted and elevated.
Haggard kept a constant contact with an emergency dispatcher and also searched for Hancock’s leg, which he managed to find. A neighbour provided a plastic bag for the leg, sadly surgeons were unable to reattach it.
Since the accident, O'Banion said Hancock's wife visited him to express her deep appreciation and reveal that his chances for recovery are bright. "At first, I knew I saved somebody's life but it just didn't click. But when I talked to his wife, I knew I made a big contribution," said O'Banion.
"I just didn't want him to die in front of me and my friends. That's a lot to handle when you're only 17," said O'Banion.
If these kids are not given some kind of award for what they did, there really is no justice in this world.
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