ENGLEWOOD, Fla. – A Florida sheriff’s deputy says he was just doing his job when he quickly came to the aid of a mom and her toddler and infant children in a car crash and performed chest compressions on the infant until the baby resumed breathing.
Charlotte County Deputy Sgt. Dave Musgrove’s heroics the night of Feb. 8 were captured on body camera footage.
The deputy was traveling on a state highway near Englewood when a motorcycle passed him at an estimated speed of over 100 mph (160 km), the sheriff’s office said in a Feb. 16 news release. Seconds later, a camera in the deputy’s vehicle captured a flash of light as the motorcycle crashed into another vehicle.
Upon arriving at the scene, Musgrove opened a rear passenger door and pulled the toddler from a booster seat. He flagged a passerby and handed the child to him and then went back to the car.
The motorcyclist was dead and wedged on top of the infant, who was in a car seat. With the help of other drivers, Musgrove moved the motorcyclist and cut a seatbelt to remove the car seat.
The baby was not breathing. In the body camera footage, her mother asks frantically whether she’s alive. Musgrove performs chest compressions until the baby resumes breathing.
“The actions of Sgt. Musgrove are to be commended,” Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement. “His poise and calm demeanor in a scene of chaos and tragedy ultimately saved the life of a beautiful child.”
The mom, Kayleigh Foley, told WBBH in Fort Myers that Musgrove is a hero to the family.
“He is such a genuine person,” she said.
Her infant daughter was in intensive care with a brain injury at a St. Petersburg hospital, according to WBBH.
At a news conference, Musgrove downplayed his efforts.
“Anybody that has received the same training we’ve received would do the same thing,” he said.