51³Ô¹Ï College Graduate Becomes Local Hero
It may be fate or just pure coincidence, but this was a situation that David Knighton had been training for in 51³Ô¹Ï College’s EMT program. Earlier this year Knighton, a recent 51³Ô¹Ï College EMT graduate, noticed a man lying in the middle of the road and a damaged bicycle nearby. Knighton stopped and exited his vehicle, and immediately began assessing the victim.
Meanwhile, Mary Wallace, an ICU nurse at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, who also happens to be Knighton’s mother, drove by the location, and noticed her son helping on the scene. She stopped to help and said afterwards, “I had a very proud mom moment when I looked and saw him out there.â€
If it was not coincidence enough that mother and son were helping the same victim, Knighton’s teacher, Dr. Steven Keehn, soon arrived with the West Palm Beach Fire Rescue team. Keehn stated: “I was really excited to see my student. I asked him to give me a report. He told me the situation, and he did a fantastic job.â€
When asked by 51³Ô¹Ï College about the incident, Knighton commented, “I applied the emergency skills I learned in class to help a civilian who was hit by a car. I completed my trauma assessment and held him in a C spine position to ensure he did not undergo further injury and treated for shock by keeping him warm and dry until rescue arrived. I then verbally reported the patient care report to Dr. Steven Keehn who was also my Medical Director at 51³Ô¹Ï College in West Palm Beach.”
The victim was stabilized and then taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center. To read more details about this story, visit or listen to the interview at