SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — A Sioux Falls man says a stranger’s actions at a restaurant saved his life.
It all started on a night in late October.
Byron Nogelmeier was at the Brandon Steakhouse when he heard a commotion over his shoulder.
“So I turn around and I looked, and there lays a gentleman on the floor…and it’s like holy cow. So my instinct being a first responder my whole life pretty much was get over to him,” Nogelmeier said.
Nogelmeier, a former Turner County Sheriff, and the man’s niece checked for a pulse, but couldn’t find one. His heart rate had plummeted.
“So I said, ‘We’ve got to start CPR,’ so I pulled up his shirt and I started the compressions,” Nogelmeier said.
The man’s niece also helped until first responders arrived at the restaurant.
“They took him to the hospital. Then I’m thinking, ‘I wonder what happened?'” Nogelmeier said.
A few days later, Nogelmeier got a call from the 86-year-old Earl Coombs’ wife asking to meet.
Volk: What’s the first thing you said to him?
Coombs: Thanks for saving my life…really because he did.
Volk: Do you think you saved his life?
Nogelmeier: Well, yeah. Divine intervention, me being there, us being there, not me alone. I mean there were other people there that helped, the ambulance, the fire, the lady that was on the other side.
Today, Coombs says he’s doing well, and he heads home from Sanford on Friday.
Nogelmeier stopped at the hospital for another visit on Thursday.
But this isn’t the last of their meetings.
The two men who were strangers just weeks ago, are already making plans for coffee.
“I’ll bring the rolls,” Nogelmeier said.
“Oh good,” Coombs said.
Both Nogelmeier and Coombs encourage people to learn CPR.
