On the evening of Nov. 11, Steven Shi, an applied and computational mathematics and computer science major, couldn’t get into his apartment after the gate’s electronic lock failed. He tried to climb over the fence, but slipped and fell, landing on one of the spiked iron points on the fence and piercing his leg.
Sandeep Kahlon and Sheba Naderzad, both dual program Viterbi and Dornsife graduate students, saw what happened and jumped into action. They used a sweater to apply a make-shift tourniquet to Shi’s leg and stop the bleeding.
Naderzad recounted the moment Shi started walking up to her and Kahlon asking for help. They noticed as he started getting closer that he was bleeding and from that moment they sprang into action to help.
DPS Assistant Chief David Carlisle said that the paramedics who responded to the scene told DPS that the tourniquet likely saved Shi’s life because the bleeding was so severe.
“That was an extraordinary act, some people may not know to apply a tourniquet or may not get involved or may not even call 911, but these two students did all of that,” Carlisle said.
The L.A. City Fire Department paramedics arrived on the scene and took over the rescue of the student before transporting him to a local hospital for treatment. Shi made a full recovery from his injuries.
DPS commemorated the students by hosting a ceremony on Feb. 23 in front of the DPS station at McClintock and Downey Way. Kahlon and Naderzad were presented with Tommy Trojan statuettes and letters of appreciation. Shi and DPS Chief Lauretta Hill also attended the ceremony.
“My great honor to thank Sheda and Sandeep for saving my life [and for] their improvisation and very smart actions,” Shi said.
“This is the first ceremony that has ever been held for this type of circumstance at least in my career here, and that has been many years, so it’s a special case,” Carlisle said.
In an interview with Annenberg Media, Carlisle encouraged students to get basic first aid and CPR training. “You never know when you’re going to need it,” Carlisle said.