Alamo campus police officer Mary Ramirez recieves a Life Saving award Oct. 27 in Killen. Her quick actions helped saved the life of 22-year old Aaron Beaugard, when he was involved in a motorcycle accident near Northwest Vista. Photo by Katelynn Alexa Garcia
Responding to an emergency is part of your duty
By Giselle Guadron
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Emergency situations can happen to anyone at any moment. Motorcyclist, Aaron Lee Beaugard, was no exception on Sept. 17 when an accident off of Loop 1604 and Wiseman resulted in the loss of both his legs.
Earlier that day, Alamo Colleges Officer Mary Ramirez was out field training another officer. You can call it fate or coincidence, but things happen for a reason and Officer Ramirez missed her exit off of 1604. So she took the next exit and decided to do a turnaround. The scene she was about to see would culminate her training as a police officer.
Ramirez saw the scene of an accident and went into action. She told the trainee officer to park their vehicle to block traffic. A San Antonio Police Officer that had been on a motorcycle ran to the scene and Ramirez ran behind him.
One of the first things she saw was a human leg, “I thought, it should be attached to a human body, then I saw another leg and further saw a body and he was bleeding really bad.” With her tourniquet in hand she started to aid Beaugard.
The other officers on scene were directing traffic and also gathering witnesses of the accident. Some of the onlookers were shocked at what they had seen. “It happened so fast. I thought I have to do something,” Ramirez said.
Her actions that day led her and two others, SAPD Officer Oscar Torres and veteran Samuel De Los Santos, to be recognized at a ceremony Oct. 8 at SAPD headquarters. Those present were friends, family, members of the Alamo Colleges Police Department, SAPD and SAFD. Also present were Beaugard’s parents. The trio of honorees received medals and certificates presented by Police Chief William McManus and San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood.
Corporal Robert Sanchez, Ramirez’s immediate supervisor and mentor says, “She’s a good officer, real friendly, very approachable, a hard worker and goes above and beyond what’s needed.”
Sanchez said that the ceremony was a well-kept secret surprise. “She’s a good leader and she’s very humble. All this attention is very embarrassing for her,” he said.
The moments that Ramirez, Torres and De Los Santos, used to help Beaugard were very crucial given the nature of his injury. Their actions were heroic, but Ramirez says, “I was just doing my job, somebody needed help and I gave help.”
Now she has peace of mind knowing that Beaugard is recovering. He is now in rehabilitation and receiving prosthetics.
“Everybody has a role in this world. We need to be more safe and aware of our surroundings and be more alert while driving and monitoring our speed,” Ramirez said.
She urges others to step up to help the next time they find themselves in an emergency situation. Call 911 and do what you can to help, she said, “Just take action and do what you can.”
