Keizer 3-year-old saves dad by calling 911

by KGW Staff


kgw.com

Posted on January 28, 2011 at 1:46 PM

Updated today at 5:28 PM

KEIZER, Ore. – A Keizer toddler saved his dad’s life by calling 9-1-1 Friday morning, police said.

Willamette Valley Communication Center got the call just after 10 a.m. A child on the other end of the line was saying, "Hurry, my daddy needs help," and then the phone was disconnected.

The 9-1-1 operator attempted to call back while the dispatcher sent a Keizer Police officer to the location.

Three-year-old A.J. Hayes answered the phone and the operator asked whether his father needed a police officer or an ambulance. He replied, "OK," and hung up again. The operator could hear a voice in the background screaming for help. Keizer Fire sent an ambulance and fire engine to the house.

A.J.’s dad, Aaron Hayes, was leaning over the kitchen counter, bleeding profusely from his arm when officer Scott Bigler arrived. He had impaled himself with a power tool and severed an artery.

Bigler grabbed some towels and applied pressure to the wound to slow the bleeding. Aaron Hayes was taken to Salem Hospital, where he was treated and released Friday afternoon.

When asked why he thought to call 9-1-1, A.J. replied, "I knew my numbers," said Anne-Marie Penge, with Keizer Fire.