CHP officer saves erratic driver who was having stroke on 405 Fwy in Torrance

TORRANCE, Calif. (KABC) -- The tears flowed as 53-year-old Kathy Byron remembered July 9, the day she suffered a stroke behind the wheel of her car in traffic on the 405 Freeway in Torrance.

During a special ceremony Tuesday morning, Byron thanked CHP officers and the staff who treated her at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance.

"I want to thank the officers for helping me out that day. God and the angels were looking out for me, and I appreciate everything that the hospital did for me," Byron said.

Byron says she is generally very healthy and had no idea she was having a stroke while driving that morning in July.

But the CHP officer who pulled her over for driving erratically knew. He is a trained emergency medical technician

"She had slurred speech, the left side of her face was somewhat droopy, and she was drooling out of the left side of her face," said CHP officer Kevin Preinitz.

After a night in the hospital, Byron was released the next day, but she is being monitored by doctors and will undergo more tests. Doctors say she is very fortunate.

"If he had detained her then there would have been a delay in diagnosis; her symptoms could have worsened; they could have been more permanent," said emergency room Dr. Jaime Kahn.

Byron says she still can't believe she had a stroke that day - or that she didn't hurt anyone else who was on the freeway.

"I put a lot of people in danger that day, unbeknownst to me," Byron said.

Doctors say they don't want to alarm anyone, but anyone can have a stroke anywhere anytime. They say when you see the symptoms of stroke, like slurred speech or a weak leg or arm, you need to get help fast.