Public servant Jeremie Nix was always ready to help whether he was on duty or not, as he proved one day when he saved a baby’s life.

When the deputy was driving home after his shift in Marion County, Florida, he came across a situation where he knew he could be of assistance.

Nix noticed a vehicle veering onto the shoulder beside his motorcade in heavy traffic. A woman carrying her infant and shouting at the police emerged as the car’s driver honked the horn repeatedly. It caught a frantic Nechole Cromwell, a mother from Gainesville, Florida, leaping out of the passenger seat with her three-month-old son Kingston in her arms when his dash cam was rolling.

The baby stopped breathing.

Nechole and her sister were on their way to the hospital due to Kingston’s poor condition. However, as they drove, his health rapidly declined. They knew they needed medical assistance urgently but traffic was impeding their progress.

The baby was not responding at all. The deputy said: “You can tell he’s completely lifeless. She just hands him to me and the first words out of her mouth were, ‘Don’t let my baby die.’”

Deputy Nix’s entire heroic rescue was caught on the patrol car’s dashboard camera. The recording showed that as soon as Nix reached the family, he set Kingston down and started performing life-saving techniques. Although the deputy tried various methods, nothing appeared to be working.

Time was of the essence, so he called for an emergency ambulance. He continued working on Kingston until he got a faint breath, but that wasn’t enough.

The deputy said to the dispatch: “I’m not waiting for medics. I’m a half mile from ORC. I’m heading to the emergency room with the baby.”

Nix said, “I didn’t have time. This baby didn’t have time to wait on an ambulance.”

He realized the kid didn’t have much time to wait for assistance, so he made a snap judgment and took matters into his own hands. He grabbed Kingston from his terrified mother and placed him in his patrol car, where he drove with sirens blaring.

Nechole and her sister followed the officer to the hospital in their car. When they arrived, medics took the baby into the trauma unit. After what felt like forever, Officer Nix came back from the trauma unit to tell them that Kingston was crying.

Nechole stated, “I knew crying meant that he was breathing, so I was able to actually relax and try to gather myself enough to see about him. I am so blessed. I thanked him probably a thousand times, and I wanted the world to know that he was amazing, and I felt like God had him at the right place at the right time, and I’m thankful.”

When Nechole’s baby was being examined, Deputy Nix remained right next to her. Later that night, he brought his wife to the hospital so they could see the family. Deputy Nix now believes that he was there on that day in order to assist their family during their crisis.