3 Twin Cities Men Save Woman From Freezing To Death
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Three men in Minneapolis saved a woman who might have frozen to death on New Year's Eve.
"There was something about that scream that was different, having lived in Uptown for years, than normal New Year's Eve excitement," said Karri Plowman.
The three say they never hesitated to run toward the screams and help. Police say it's not that common for bystanders to help, and what these men did was truly life-saving and special.
Having just come home from a New Year's Eve party, a chilling scream caught their attention. It was coming from a staircase in a quiet parking lot behind Plowman and Paul Bigot's Uptown Minneapolis home.
It was a woman. They didn't know her. They called to their roommate Greg Wisa, a registered nurse.
"She was in survival mode. There was snow on most of her clothing and her hair was just frozen when I was trying to talk to her," Wisa said.
Minneapolis Officers Jarrod Kunze and Ryan Johnson were there in minutes, but they were running out of time. With an ambulance on its way from Hopkins, the officers made a quick decision to drive the woman to the hospital themselves, asking Wisa to ride along.
"It was still scary even for me, responding to an emergency in the field is a lot different than my heated hospital with equipment," Wisa said.
They could've easily disregarded the sound they heard, but there was never a choice for these men.
"It was a full-circle situation for me. I literally fell down a flight of stairs a year ago and was stuck in a snow bank and no one found me. That's why I'm lucky to be here, it started my road to recovery," said Paul Bigot.
He's been sober now for one year, and the woman they saved made it without any serious injury.
It's an outcome the officers know could have been different if these men hadn't had the heart to stop and help. The police didn't want to name the woman if she's not ready to talk about what led up to the incident.
The men said they'd be open to meeting with her in the future if she wants, but just knowing she is OK is enough. The officers are nominating the group for a Good Samaritan award.
