Crime & Safety

Patch Exclusive: An Army Medic in Iraq, A Hero in Lakewood

Army Medic Jose Delgado admitted that he "freezed up" when helping Mary Healey during a horrific accident, but his experience in Iraq served him well when he performed lifesaving first aid. He will be honored at the Sept. 26 City Council meeting.

Mary Healey has a new hero, a man who saved her leg and possibly her life after a horrific hit-and-run accident at a 76 gas station in Lakewood on July 24.

Jose Delgado, an Army medic, was off work but still in uniform. He was driving to pick up a pizza.

But an extraordinary event thrust Delgado into an extraordinary life-saving situation, one he has seen before in Iraq. But this was different. This was an innocent woman at the wrong place at the wrong time.

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"I got flashbacks of people I helped out in Iraq," said Delgado, a native of Lancaster, PA, who was deployed from August 2009 to August 2010 in Iraq. "I kind of freezed up. Then I slapped myself out of it and kept moving."

Healey was with her youngest daughter, Rachael, on their way to , when they ran out of gas. Concerned her daughter would be late to the church youth group, Mary Healey's friend gave Rachael

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Healey ended up at the 76 station after a different friend brought her enough gas. That’s when, according to Lakewood police, 23-year-old Yoni Valencia was driving and on the phone, in a heated argument with his mother. He swerved to avoid hitting a stopped car at the intersection of 108th Street and Bridgeport Way about 7:30 p.m. He drove over a sidewalk, through a landscaped area, struck a gas pump and collided with Healey's minivan, which

With gas leaking from the broken pump, Delgado dragged her away from the spilling gas and rendered first aid. She was bleeding heavily from the damaged leg, so he applied two tourniquets and other lifesaving actions. A group of Air Force servicemen assisted him.

Delgado said the only thing holding her foot and leg together was skin. He said two people fainted from witnessing the graphic crime scene.

Healey was eventually flown to Harborview, where she was stabilized. Doctors have saved her foot. Healey told Patch

"As far as I know, it’s looking really good," Healey said. "The (right) leg will probably be 1-2 inches shorter than other leg. At this point, there are no indications I will lose the foot."

Delgado's medical Army training was pivotal in saving her leg. He may have not seen the accident or known what happened, but his desire to help people in general made the ultimate difference.

"If I can use what I know to help someone ... I feel like it's my duty to help other people," said Delgado, on why he decided to pull over and not keep driving.

Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar will present Delgado with the Lakewood Police Chief's Citizen Commendation award at the Sept. 26 Lakewood City Council meeting. Delgado's C Company, 702nd Bridgade Support Battalion, expects to be there. Healey, a secretary at l, will publicly thank him for saving her life.

But the two have already met.

Healey's family had lunch at Red Robin in Lakewood with Delgado and a friend last Saturday. Healey said it gave her a better look at the accident.

"I had no recollection of the accident scene on my mind," Healey said. "It gives me more perspective on what he actually did.

"Had he not taken actions to stop bleeding I would’ve died. Everybody has told me if he hadn't put the tourniquet on my leg I would’ve bled out."

Delgado said he was emotional when he was trying to save Healey.

"I'm just glad she's alright," he said. "Not normal, yet, but she's still alive and living life."

After staying with Healey until paramedics arrived, Delgado remained at the scene and provided eyewitness details to investigating officers. He also was able to positively identify the suspect, allowing officers to build a solid criminal case against him.

The suspect, meanwhile, who police say tried to run from the scene, was charged with felony hit-and-run, vehicular assault and obstructing a police officer. He pleaded not guilty in Pierce County Superior Court and is being held on $100,000 bail.

Healey said that although Delgado was the man who saved her, it was ultimately God who did the healing.

"If I didn’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I don’t know how I’d be handling this situation and healing," she said. "I really think God placed some very strategic people to help me out. I have to give glory to God and what he does through people."


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