LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When it came to saving a life, 16-year-old Nylaia Carter didn't think twice.
"In that moment I just knew how to help that man," she said.
On Aug. 31, Nylaia saw a man bleeding on the ground while driving near Chestnut Street. She said she immediately told her dad, Adam Carter, to stop the car.
"I was trying to get home, I was trying to get in front of the rush hour traffic, but she was just so persistent. 'Dad pull over! Dad pull over!' So I had to pull over," he said.
That's when Nylaia jumped into action. She said she grabbed her sweatshirt, wrapped it around the man's arm, and then applied pressure on his gunshot wound. Nylaia stayed with the him until paramedics arrived and rushed him to UofL Hospital.
She said she learned how to stop the bleeding from the Allied Health Program at Moore and Central High Schools.
Medical teacher Shantel Reed said she couldn't be more proud of Nylaia.
"To see her already at her age, with her confidence, and her knowledge, man, her future is bright," Reed said.
As for Nylaia's future, she said the man isn't going to be the last life she saves. She plans to make a career out of the skills she's gained.
"It makes me feel more confident, more prepared," she said. "Like if anything happens, I know what to do."
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