Pinal County Deputy saves 2 lives in a single hour

A Pinal County Deputy is being heralded as a hero after saving two lives last Thursday.

Deputy Robert Taylor saved the life of an 8-month-old infant at 11:30 a.m. and 45 minutes later saved the life of an 83-year-old man.

The first rescue occurred when the Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding a choking infant.

The parents who made the call were panicked and gave dispatchers the wrong address said spokesman Tim Gaffney.

As Taylor was responding to the call and attempting to locate the address, the infant’s parents flagged him down.

When he arrived on the scene, Taylor discovered the infant was not breathing and began to administer CPR.

By his efforts, the deputy was able to restore the child’s breathing. The child was then transported to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, according to Gaffney.

The second incident occurred around 12:15 p.m. when dispatchers received a call requesting a welfare check on an 83-year-old man who was living in a vehicle outside a trailer.

When Taylor arrived on scene, he could not immediately locate the man. After further inspection, he noticed a well system a quarter mile away. As he approached the 10-foot-wide, 15-feet-deep hole, he could hear faint calls for help, according to Gaffney.

Taylor was able to locate a ladder and descend to the bottom of the hole to rescue the man who was suffering from frostbite and having difficulty breathing.

The man was transported to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.

“The actions of Deputy Taylor show the professional and caring nature of the men and women of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office,” said Sheriff Paul Babeu. “I am very proud of his life saving actions.”