Congratulations to Patrick “Petey” Hicks, a line servicer in Natchitoches, for receiving an AEP Hero Award!

On Nov. 4, a black sedan zoomed past Hicks, who was driving on a rural Louisiana highway. The sedan veered off the right side of the road. It traveled over a driveway, went airborne, and then hit a fence. According to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office, the car struck several trees before crashing into a ravine.

When Petey saw the accident, he parked his truck, grabbed his first aid kit and ran toward the car. He found two young men seriously injured.

One man’s leg was broken, and he was bleeding heavily. Hicks grabbed a shirt from the car, made a tourniquet and applied pressure to the wound. Hicks slowed the man’s bleeding until the paramedics arrived.

A sheriff’s deputy said Petey’s quick actions prevented the young man from bleeding out and that Petey potentially saved the person’s life.

Petey is pictured with SWEPCO’s President & COO Malcolm Smoak.

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