In a holding cell at the District Courts Building in Weatherford, Texas, eight men sat, shackles on both their hands and ankles. The guard watching the men had been joking with them before he suddenly slumped over unconscious.
“He just fell over," said inmate Nick Kelton. "Looked like an act. Could have died right there.”
Kelton and other inmates began shouting for help. Then they managed to bust out of their holding room, even though they knew it was dangerous.
“We were worried they’re going to come with guns drawn on us," Kelton said Thursday.
The guard had no pulse.
Sgt. Speegle corralled the inmates, still not completely understanding what was happening, back into the cell. Deputies started CPR and the paramedics arrived and shocked the guard, who regained a pulse. Inmates watched life returning.
“He’s a good man,” Kelton shrugged.
Kelton calls himself a meth addict facing his fourth trip to prison. Says he just can’t stay clean.
Sgt. Speegle says that the men probably saved the guard’s life. Weatherford has reinforced the door that the men were able to break out of.
Watch video of the men helping below.