McDonald's worker jumps out drive-thru window to save customer

  • 16/03/2017

A McDonald's employee jumped right through his drive-thru window in order to help save a Miami-Dade police officer.

Pedro Viloria was working the window at the McDonald's on 113th Avenue in Doral, Florida in the early hours of Tuesday morning (local time).

He was serving breakfast to a lady in an SUV along with her two children, a boy and a girl. Mr Viloria noticed something wrong with the mother, and so did the kids - she had stopped breathing.

"Her kids were screaming, 'Mother, mother, stop it, mother what are you doing?' " Mr Viloria said.

"I thought, 'If those kids lose their mother today, that's going to be tragic'."

On surveillance camera footage, the SUV can be seen starting to move. Apparently the woman's foot was off the brake.

Mr Viloria knew he had to make a move, so he hopped out the service window in pursuit of the SUV and the stricken driver. He did it just as the SUV came to a stop up against the driveway kerb, then told the kids to call 911 right away.

The kids did just that as a firefighter walked into the McDonald's. He was unaware of what was happening at first, but soon headed out knowing something was up. He and his partner rushed to help, and so did an off-duty paramedic.

Within what seemed like seconds, the fire service was on the scene.

"I was with the kids telling them it was going to be all right," Mr Viloria said.

McDonald's released a statement applauding Mr Viloria's actions.

"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," it read.

"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."

CBS News