A freak accident nearly left a Johnson County man without his arm. Thanks to a Good Samaritan, he’s still here to share his story.
Andrew Carrillo was leaving Callahan’s on 87th in Lenexa. He was riding his bike when the chain got caught and he reached for the glass window to break his fall.
"At that point, I fell through and just went straight down. I looked back and there were shards, big ole’ shards that cut through my arm,” Carrillo explained.
He doesn’t remember feeling the pain, but by the amount of blood, he knew he was in trouble.
He yelled for help.
“I said, ‘Man, can you please help me!’”
The man he yelled for is 26-year-old Nathan Johnson. Johnson was enjoying his dinner on the patio nearby.
“So I took my shirt off and I put it around his arm just above the wound. And I wasn’t able to tie it off, so I twisted it as tight as possible and held on to it because I knew we had to get the bleeding to stop,” Johnson said.
The glass broke Carrillo’s bones, tore through his muscles and cut a main artery. Doctors believe he could have bled out in five to six minutes if Johnson didn’t jump in to action.
“I was asking him, ‘Just don't let me die.’ You know, I want to see my son again. He was assuring me, ‘You're gonna see your son again, you're gonna make it through this, man.’"
Johnson said he usually doesn’t do well with blood.
“In that situation, my adrenaline was going so much it didn't even phase me. I just knew I had to keep him from bleeding out,” he said.
Their paths had never crossed before that moment on Sunday. Both said the accident gave them a newfound friendship and perspective on life.
“It's definitely a connection unlike many others,” Johnson said.
"This is a good way to wake up. It's a second chance at life. Meet new friends, and have guardian angels around me, you know, I thank God every day I’m breathing still,” Carrillo said.
Carrillo said it is unlikely he will make a full recovery. He is having trouble moving two of his fingers.
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Lexi Sutter can be reached at lexi.sutter@kshb.com.
