Heroic deputy rushes to save high schooler who collapsed on track, Florida video shows

A Florida sheriff’s deputy is being hailed as a hero after she ran to save a high school student who collapsed on his school’s track field.

On Feb. 5, a teen student was participating in track practice at Leto High School in Tampa when he suddenly collapsed, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 13 news release.

His heart had stopped beating, and school staff attached an automated external defibrillator, or AED, to his chest as they waited for emergency services to arrive.

That is when Deputy Deena Biland jumped into action. Her body camera footage shows the terrifying moment she ran onto the track to see the student lifeless on the ground.

The student had already received one shock from the AED to try and restart his heart, but it hadn’t worked, the sheriff’s office said in the release.

Biland immediately started chest compressions as another person continued to give the student life-saving breaths, the video shows.

“Come on, buddy,” Biland said as she continued CPR. “You are there!”

Paramedics arrived, but Biland didn’t stop trying to give the student’s heart the push it needed.

The teen was loaded into an ambulance and received a second shock from an AED, the sheriff’s office said.

It worked.

The student regained a pulse and was taken to the hospital, the sheriff’s office said.

“Deputy Biland’s quick actions were nothing short of heroic,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in the release. “In the face of a life-threatening situation, her swift response saved a young life. We couldn’t be prouder of our deputies, whose training allows them to provide life-saving medical assistance when every second counts.”

It was the second time a Hillsborough deputy needed to use an AED in February, or American Heart Month, the sheriff’s office said.

“Take proactive measures like learning CPR, knowing AED locations and getting regular check-ups,” the sheriff’s office said.