Two MMA trainers tell incredible tale about saving a man's life at a gas station
All Ricky Lundell and Todd Prace wanted when they stopped at a Las Vegas gas station Tuesday afternoon was a Rockstar energy drink and a bottle of water. What they got was 12 minutes they'll never forget -- and the distinction as heroes.
The two MMA trainers said when they got to the station there was a man lying motionless on the pavement next to a gas pump. With the man's crying wife looking on, Lundell and Prace bolted into action, using CPR to resuscitate him before authorities arrived. They found out later the man had a stroke.
"All these people had no idea what to do," Lundell told FOX Sports. "I never thought I'd use CPR in my life. All of a sudden, it really, really mattered. It was a very different experience. Very, very life-changing."
Lundell and Prace had just left a gymnastics training session where they were working out with UFC heavyweight Frank Mir early, which is not something they would normally do. They were on their way to Bishop Gorman HS, the Las Vegas powerhouse where Lundell is the head wrestling coach and Prace is his assistant.
Before heading to the school for practice with the team, Prace wanted to stop at a gas station nearby to grab drinks.
"If we left [Mir's training session] 10 minutes before that or 10 minutes after, the guy would have been gone, because our paths wouldn’t have crossed," Prace said.
When Lundell and Prace got out of Prace's car, they noticed a commotion near one of the pumps. People looked distressed. One man yelled for someone to call 911, that a person was dead on the ground. Lundell and Prace pushed their way through the crowd and did not hesitate.
Lundell has taken CPR classes, a requirement to be certified as a coach at Gorman. Prace has done the same and also has an extensive background in similar techniques from his years in the Marines. Lundell went to the man's side, while Prace secured his head. Lundell began pressing on the prone man's chest.
Another man in the crowd dialed 911 and the operator helped walk Lundell and Prace through it. While all of this was happening, the man's wife and child were nearby in tears.
"It was super weird," Lundell said. "His skin was just pure white. I don’t know how to explain it other than dead. This guy is obviously not alive."
After a few minutes of performing the resuscitation methods, the ill man began letting out a yawn, a kind of gasp for air. Then the color started coming back into his skin.
Ricky Lundell (left) and Todd Prace coach the Bishop Gorman wrestling team in Las Vegas.
"This guy is fighting for his life," Lundell said. "You can tell he is trying to come back to life."
Just before firefighters arrived, Lundell said the man's eyes started to get bigger and he began coughing up mucus. Then, he started breathing fairly normally and his heart started beating. Paramedics got there soon after and put a tube into the man's throat.
The work of Lundell and Prace saved the day.
"[The firemen] said, 'You guys are heroes,'" Lundell said. "To hear something like that, it's like no. You guys are the real heroes."
Added Prace: "Make sure you're getting CPR certified. That goes for anyone."
Lundell said he called the fire department Thursday and they told him that the man was going to be fine. When it was all over, Prace got his Rockstar and water and the two went over to Gorman to train the wrestlers as if nothing had happened.
"To have a scenario like this be thrown on your feet, you've gotta do something," Prace said. "We look at each other and said, 'Let's go, let's fix the problem right now.' I would hope someone would do that for me or one of my loved ones."
Lundell, a former wrestling champion and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, works with the likes of Mir, Forrest Griffin and Miesha Tate on a regular basis and has been a part of camps at Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., for UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. In a few weeks, he'll be heading to Glendale Fighting Club in Los Angeles to help Travis Browne get ready for his UFC 181 bout with Brendan Schaub on Dec. 6.
Lundell and Prace see a lot of impactful things on a regular basis. But never anything quite like this. They rose to the occasion.
"You realize you had a real impact on the world, you realize you had a real impact on a family," Lundell said. "I feel empowered, if that makes sense. It's a different kind of happiness and success. You feel like you were part of something a lot bigger than yourself."
