Houston derecho 2024: 3 METRO PD officers rescue injured man during downtown storm

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A seriously injured man left wandering the streets of downtown Houston during the height of the May 16 storm was rescued by three METRO police officers.

All three officers spoke exclusively with Eyewitness News about the experience.

Officer Byron Wiley said he was flagged down by a passerby while driving downtown and directed to the Wells Fargo Plaza.

In attorney Michael Lombardino’s dashcam footage, you can see the man walking across Louisiana while clutching his arm as debris blows around him.

By the time Wiley catches up with the man, he is in the lobby of the Wells Fargo Plaza and has a huge gash on his arm.

“The laceration was pretty deep. He was losing a lot of blood pretty quickly,” Wiley said, adding that he wasted no time in applying a makeshift tourniquet to try to stop the bleeding. “It all happened so quickly. I couldn’t get my medical kit, so I used a trash bag from one of the cleaners who was there.”

Wiley called for backup and officers Eddie Rodriguez and Walid Koual arrived.

“We practice and we practice and we practice, but when it’s time to do it, it’s different,” Koual said.

The police called an ambulance, but were told that none were available, so they were left with only one option.

“From that point on, we just decided to try to transport the individual into our patrol vehicle,” Rodriguez said.

As rain and wind continued their assault on downtown, officers headed toward St. Joseph Medical Center. Even though they only had to go a few blocks, they were driving in the same conditions as the victim when he was injured.

“Actually, he informed me that he was driving downtown, and he doesn’t know what hit his windshield, but something hit his windshield, broke his windshield,” Wiley said.

Officers said they continued to talk to the man to distract him from his injuries. They said they feared he was in shock.

“I guess he was disoriented because he was actually bleeding, and anyone bleeding that much with a laceration that large would be disoriented,” Koual said.

They eventually arrived at the hospital and handed the victim over to doctors who told him he was expected to make a full recovery. But as the police leave the hospital, a tire is punctured by a piece of glass.

“We just did our job, and if we had to do it again, we would do it again. I’m just happy to be in this business,” Koual said.

“No heroes here. I’m just doing my job, what I’m supposed to do,” Wiley said.

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