Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Grant Montgomery has been recognized for helping save the life of a suspect wounded during a pursuit.
The incident began in Haywood County on March 2 last year when Trooper Able King attempted to pull over the suspect, who stopped, sped off and then made a loop attempting to run over the trooper, according to The Star Gazzette.
King shot the suspect, who continued to flee the scene in his vehicle.
Trooper Montgomery and Trooper Todd Yelverton assisted in the pursuit that spanned three different counties and came to an end when the vehicle stopped on a remote road in Hardeman County.
The suspect, who was shot in his left arm near his shoulder, had lost consciousness from a significant loss of blood. Montgomery and Yelverton pulled the suspect form the vehicle and placed him in handcuffs before administering first aid.
They quickly made the decision to remove the handcuffs and applied a tourniquet from a medical kit. The suspect began to go into shock as the troopers continued to work on the man.
Montgomery raised the suspect's legs above his heart in an effort to allow gravity to let the blood flow back into his internal organs.
The two troopers were able to keep the suspect stable and conscious until an ambulance that was 20 minutes away could arrive.
The suspect has since pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a weapon and received a three-year sentence to be served at the Tennessee Department of Corrections.
During a recent ceremony, Montgomery was awarded the Lifesaver Award, the second highest award given by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
"I'm very humbled to receive the award because a lot of times what we do is not recognized," Montgomery told the newspaper. "It's not so much for me, but to be able to save someone's life and get a pat on the back for it is pretty nice."
