ELIZABETHTOWN — Three inmates at the Bladen County Detention Center are credited with saving a life while out on roadside cleanup duty, a news release from the Sheriff’s Office says.
Wednesday afternoon the three were out picking up trash under the supervision of Officer James Smith, who is one of two part-time employees on the roadside cleanup crew. At approximately 2:45 p.m. Smith began to feel unwell and “started weaving and passed out.
The three inmates, Roy William Smith, Rosendo Morales-Sanchez, and Franklin Edens Jr., took the cellphone of the officer and called 911, and waited until law enforcement and EMS arrived.
Chief Deputy Larry Guyton stated in a release that Smith was transported to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville and then moved to Duke. Smith had suffered a stroke and is in the intensive care unit.
The three inmates are going to be recognized Thursday afternoon at the law enforcement center.