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McDonald's employee jumps through drive-thru window to save off-duty officer

Posted at 7:55 AM, Mar 15, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-15 11:08:47-04

A McDonald’s employee is being called a hero after he jumped through the restaurant’s drive-thru window to assist an unconscious off-duty police officer as her vehicle rolled away.

Pedro Viloria was working the drive-thru window at a McDonald’s in Doral, Florida on Tuesday morning. Viloria was ready to hand food to a woman in an SUV, when he noticed she was breathing abnormally.

That’s when the woman — an off-duty officer with two children were in the back seat of her SUV — fell unconscious. Her foot slipped off the brakes, and the car began rolling forward.

 

Viloria didn’t hesitate. Security footage shows him put the food on a counter, lift himself up and slide right out of the drive-thru window.

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The woman’s car narrowly missed the car in front of it and came to a stop against a nearby curb. Viloria asked the children to call 911, and went to go find help in the restaurant. He tracked down two firefighters eating breakfast in the restaurant, and an off-duty paramedic also ran to the rescue.

 

The woman was rushed to the hospital. She reportedly survived the incident, though her condition is currently unknown.

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McDonald’s released the following statement about the incident.

“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the officer and her family during this difficult time. I think I speak for our McDonald’s family when I say how proud we are of Pedro. He is an excellent employee, so it didn’t surprise me that he took immediate action and jumped through a window to help save this woman.  And he was not the only member of the team that played a pivotal role in ensuring she received the medical attention she needed. A second employee, who asked to remain unnamed, assisted with CPR. Their quick thinking and action were everything in that moment.”

Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.