Mail carrier rescues man in chainsaw accident in Norwalk

NORWALK, Calif. (AP) — A mail carrier on his route in Southern California came to the rescue of a 70-year-old man who accidentally cut his own arm with a chainsaw late last week, authorities said.

United States Postal Service mail carrier Fernando Garcia was wrapping up his shift in Norwalk when he heard a loud scream from a nearby house and rushed toward the home, KNBC-TV originally reported Monday.

Garcia told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it wasn’t until he saw the man that he knew he needed to help and quickly fashioned his belt into a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

“I was fixing a part of the roof in the garage,” Miguel Cabral told The Associated Press. While working, he cut the upper part of his left arm about 3 inches below the elbow. “I looked once and I knew it was bad so I told my sister to call the emergency.”

Cabral said he has two sisters, and both were home at the time. His 75-year-old sister has had throat cancer and is not able to speak very loudly, so he yelled out to his 60-year-old sister.

“My sister was going crazy and kept asking what to do,” he said. That’s when Garcia walked into the backyard to find him lying in the grass on his back to slow the bleeding.

Garcia stayed with the man until an ambulance arrived. The Los Angeles County sheriff’s department posted on Twitter Friday from the Norwalk station that the man is expected to recover because of Garcia’s quick action.

“I’m glad I was able to help him out,” he said.