Hero of the Week: Postal Worker Saves Teen with CPR

Do you know how to do CPR? If you work for the federal government, you can take training to learn how to do it. I took it and got my certification, but I've not had to use it. This week's hero is a postal worker, formerly in the military, where he learned CPR. He never expected he would be asked to put his training into action while making deliveries, but he did to save a teenager. Here's his story 

USPS letter carrier receives Hero Award For Saving a Teen

By Nicole Heins KKTC Aug. 18, 2022 at 8:31 PM EDT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Colorado Springs United States Postal Service letter carrier Kimberly “Smitty” Smith received an award for saving the life of a young girl. This incident reportedly happened in June of 2022.

“I was in total shock, I mean I was just, I was happy, I had all kinds of feelings going through my body but the main thing is I knew I revived her and she was going to live,” says Smitty.

The Postmaster General Hero award was given to Smitty Thursday at the USPS Templeton Gap Post Office near Academy and Austin Bluffs. He has been with USPS for more than 20 years.

He said he forgot to scan a package at the Candlewood Apartments and went back to the apartments to make sure it was done correctly. “I usually go in the office and say bye or something when I’m leaving and nobody was in the office so I hung around for a little while and I kept looking at my watch. ‘I was like you know what I think I’m going to leave’ and something made me stay and I stayed a little longer,” says Smitty. “Right after that, the manager came out of the office, she was soaking wet, make-up running, hair wet, dress wet, and she asked me if I knew CPR. Just by the look on her face I knew something tragic was happening.”

They both ran to the pool and reportedly saw a 14-year-old face down near the pool.

“I was scared but I knew all the procedures, correct procedures and I did it. The whole time I was giving her CPR, I was crying of course, telling myself you know you can’t die today, you gotta start breathing and soon enough, when I heard the sirens off in the distance she came to, I revived her. I’m just proud of myself for being there at that time and doing the right thing,” says Smitty.

Thanks to Smitty’s past in the Military, and wanting to be both a police officer and firefighter, he has several training courses on how to administer CPR. He tells 11 News he is just glad he was in the right place at the right time to help save this girl.