City honors two in life-death responses

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Two Albuquerque city employees were recognized Friday for their actions in dealing with separate life-or-death situations.

In December Albuquerque Police Department Detective Carla Perez found a vehicle with its engine on outside a home.

She tried knocking on the door to warn the homeowner about attracting car thieves, but no one answered.

That's when she found the woman near the side of her home unable to move in 30 degree temperatures.  She had been there for an hour.

There's no doubt the woman could have died from exposure had Perez not come along.

"About a week later, the senior wrote a gracious letter to detective Perez thanking her and praising her for her diligence, her attention to detail, her concern, and ultimately for saving her life," Mayor Richard J. Berry said during Friday presentation ceremony.

Perez is also the detective who was injured by a car at Coronado Center while an alleged thief was trying to get away.  The suspect, Justin Córdova, was eventually caught.

And another city employee

Senior Affairs Department employee David Gallegos also was honored for helping save a life while taking a meal to a double-amputee at the man's home.

When the man didn't answer the door, Gallegos worried something could be wrong.  He eventually was able to find the man lying on the floor unconscious and then called 9-1-1.

It turned out the man had a severe stroke.