Fallbrook residents save man's life after he collapses in front of school

Rocky Dixon feared for his life. He was behind the wheel of his Toyota Tacoma when the world around him started to go dark.

Thank God he lives in Fallbrook.

Somehow, the retired woodworker was on his back in the middle of an intersection. Dixon was trying to drive himself to the hospital on Sept. 30, when he realized he wasn’t going to make it. The 72-year-old pulled over and apparently rolled out of the driver’s seat right in front of Potter Junior High School on Reche Road in Fallbrook.

As luck would have it, two former lifeguards were in the car behind Dixon when he rolled out of his truck.

“They pulled over immediately, jumped out of their car, ran to me,” Dixon recalled a week later.

The two women found Dixon bleeding profusely from his wrist. It was the result of a bonehead mistake.

“It was just a very crazy thing,” Dixon admitted sheepishly.

The experienced carpenter was using a utility knife to remove wood glue from the leg of an old couch.

“And boop, got myself right in the radial artery,” he said, while miming a knife into his right wrist.

Dixon opted against calling 911 and tried driving himself to the ER. He’s not proud of his decision.

“Exactly. Don't be a dodo,” he smiled. “Young and old: If something happens, don't take it upon yourself. Call 911.”

Word spread quickly through Potter Junior High that a man was down on the ground across the street.

“We have an outstanding nurse here, Nurse Nunzia (Lopez). And so, I called her on the radio, and she came running,” said Assistant Principal Maggie Taylor. “She came running. I haven't seen anyone run that fast to a scene. And she was right there.”

Nurse Nunzia Lopez asked a nearby man for his belt and used it as a tourniquet until an ambulance arrived.

“She put it around my arm, stopped the bleeding, saved my life,” sighed Dixon. “I was literally minutes from going away.”

Thank God he lives in Fallbrook. One of the first responders recognized Dixon.

“He was like, ‘Weren't you my freshman football coach?’” Taylor said.

“I had coached one of them as in high school football, freshman football,” said Dixon.

Then, as soon as he got into the emergency room: “The head nurse looks down at me on my gurney and says, ‘Rocky, you made our front door.’”

“I think it's just a really perfect example of living in a small town,” Taylor concluded.

“I was just blessed the whole way,” said Dixon, who turned 73 on Wednesday. “My relationship with the Lord has really grown incredibly.”

Dixon was able to track down everyone who helped him that afternoon. The two former lifeguards weren’t even supposed to be in Fallbrook that day. Their flights were cancelled the previous day. Nurse Nunzia Lopez and the administration staff posed for a picture with Dixon when he visited the school after being released from the hospital. She was in Kentucky for her son’s graduation from the fire academy when this story was written.

And yes, Dixon's wife and family scolded him.

Thank God he lives in Fallbrook.