A sheriff’s deputy in Florida has become an honorary “uncle” after he saved a 6-month-old baby from a fatal car crash.
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Sgt. David Musgrove was on a typical patrol on February 8, 2024, when he watched a motorcycle rush by his car. Seconds later, he heard a crash.
Musgrove rushed to the scene and found that the motorcycle had collided with a vehicle. The motorcyclist had been killed instantly, and he heard screaming coming from the car that had been hit.
Kayleigh Foley had been driving the other car. She was driving home from dinner with her daughters Ariel, 3, and Lola, 6 months. Kayleigh was stuck in her seat, so she began honking her horn so the officer knew there were people inside.
“I just kept screaming, ‘My babies, my babies, get my babies,'” she told
Sgt. Musgrove pulled Ariel from the car first. She only suffered minor injuries, so he handed her to a bystander who had stopped to help. When he pulled Lola from the car, he wasn’t sure she had survived.
Kayleigh, in a panic, asked Sgt. Musgrove if her baby was alive.
“He was like, ‘Let me do my job,'” she continued. “And traffic was still going on, no one was stopping, so he put her to the side, in the median, and starts doing CPR.”
Sgt. Musgrove did not find a pulse when he rescued Lola, but he was able to keep the baby alive while a medicopter flew to the scene. First responders fully revived her before transporting her to a hospital in St. Petersburg.
“They did their thing and got her full vitals back,” the officer told the outlet. “I’m very, very glad that a first responder was right there. It didn’t have to be me, it could have been anybody, but a first responder being right there probably saved her life.”
The Deputy Remains a Staple in the Baby’s Life After He Heroically Saved Her Life
Lola suffered several skull fractures and a broken arm. When she arrived at the hospital, she began having seizures, which forced doctors to put her in a medically induced coma for one week. Lola’s family believes that if it hadn’t been for Sgt. Musgrove, the baby would not have survived.
“He’s our angel, that’s for sure,” said Lola’s grandma, Lisa Foley. “We wouldn’t have our baby Lola if it had not been for Sgt. Musgrove and his quick action.”
Lola is doing well today, but doctors on monitoring her for long-term damage.
“One big thing in her favor is her age because her fontanels were not closed completely yet,” Lisa continued. “So as far as brain swelling, that helped accommodate that so she didn’t have to have neurosurgery.”
The sheriff’s deputy has been by the baby’s side since her harrowing rescue. He spent time with the family while she recovered in the hospital, and started a GoFundMe in their name. He continues to speak to Kayleigh daily and helps as she takes a break from school and works to care for Lola full-time. Kayleigh became a single mother when her fiance’ died only days before Lola was born.
The officer even had a special meeting with Lola at the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office before he recieved the Black and Blue Award for his heroism.
Lola’s daughters now know Sgt. Musgrove as “Uncle Dave.” And Kayleigh believes he came into their lives through divine intervention. Sgt. Musgrove and Kayleigh even have the same birthdays, and his grandmother is also named Lola
“It’s too much of a coincidence,” Kayleigh said. “He’s never [on patrol] in Englewood and he’s never on duty at night. He was just there in the right place at the right time.”
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