NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A man survived combat, only to find himself in an even more desperate situation: a life-threatening emergency in the middle of a huge traffic jam.
The incident happened during President Obama's visit to Nashville Wednesday.
It was an off-duty officer who was in the right place at the right time.
“Honestly, I'm afraid, I'm afraid I'm going to end up having a stroke,” Dallas Brown told NewsChannel 5 nearly a year before the incident.
The war veteran feared things would get worse, and that fear came true Wednesday afternoon in the middle of a major highway.
Officer Reny Ruiz-Marte 00:52 “It was roughly about 3:30, 4 o'clock,” Officer Reny Ruiz-Marte said about the traffic.
Officer Ruiz-Marte was off-duty, on his way home, when he ran into a traffic back-up on Interstate 65 South.
“The vehicles were not moving out of the way as if there was an emergency vehicle or something obstructing the passage,” Officer Ruiz-Marte said.
That obstruction was Dallas Brown, witnesses said he was on the ground having a stroke.
His wife got stuck in post-presidential visit traffic while attempting to take her husband to the hospital.
When Officer Ruiz-Marte showed up, she was frantically calling for help to no avail.
“I noticed there was a young man laying on the ground with his hands on his chest leaning down and she was speaking to 911,” Officer Ruiz-Marte said.
The officer stayed by Brown's side until help arrived.
He also cleared the roadway so emergency crews could get to him.
Thursday morning Kim Brown posted a big thank you on Facebook, which was something Officer Ruiz-Marte wasn't expecting.
“It was a shocker, but it makes me feel really good,” Officer Ruiz-Marte said. “It does. I'm glad people can see we're actually here to help people.”
Wednesday, it was Dallas Brown's turn. He served on the front lines in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
His health deteriorated when he came back.
What Brown doesn’t know is that Officer Ruiz-Marte is also a war veteran.
“I have CPR training from the Marine Corp and the police department,” Officer Ruiz-Marte said.
He said helping the community has been part of the job, but it's always extra special when it happens when you least expect it, to those who need it the most.
“If duty calls, we answer,” Officer Ruiz-Marte said.
NewsChannel 5 reached out to Dallas Brown and his wife, but they couldn't talk to us because they were still at the hospital.
