SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — A Sioux Falls man says a stranger’s actions at a restaurant saved his life.
It all started on a night in late October.
Byron Nogelmeier was at the Brandon Steakhouse when he heard a commotion over his shoulder.
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“So I turn around and I looked, and there lays a gentleman on the floor…and it’s like holy cow. So my instinct being a first responder my whole life pretty much was get over to him,” Nogelmeier said.
Nogelmeier, a former Turner County Sheriff, and the man’s niece checked for a pulse, but couldn’t find one. His heart rate had plummeted.
“So I said, ‘We’ve got to start CPR,’ so I pulled up his shirt and I started the compressions,” Nogelmeier said.
The man’s niece also helped until first responders arrived at the restaurant.
“They took him to the hospital. Then I’m thinking, ‘I wonder what happened?’” Nogelmeier said.
A few days later, Nogelmeier got a call from the 86-year-old Earl Coombs’ wife asking to meet.