A Jessamine County inmate is being praised for saving the life of a deputy jailer.
At around noon on Mar. 8, the deputy jailer (whose identity has not been made public), while driving work release inmates back to Jessamine County Detention Center, lost consciousness due to a drop in blood sugar. Noticing the deputy jailer’s loss of consciousness, inmate Terry Smallwood was able to reach the wheel from the passenger side, stop the vehicle, turn the blue lights on and call 911. Smallwood then provided care for the deputy until first responders arrived.
“His head was kind of flopping around. I asked him two or three times if he was okay and I asked if he took his insulin,” Smallwood told WKYT. “I was just fearing for his safety because his sugar got so low, he could’ve gone into a diabetic coma.”
Three other inmates were in the back of the vehicle: Alfred Deaton, Caz Hazuga and Claude Dixon. Though the inmates had the opportunity to escape, none of them did.
“Didn’t even cross my mind,” Smallwood said. “Plus I wouldn’t run away, I’m trying to do something different with my life.”
Smallwood is serving a 30 month sentence as the result of drug charges. However, the State Department of Corrections has shaved off 90 days from his sentence because of his actions, as well as 30 days for the other three inmates. The detention center’s staff, including jailer Jon Sallee, praised Smallwood for preventing a traffic accident and for administering proper care to the deputy.
“I can not thank inmate Smallwood enough for his heroic actions that day that potentially saved the lives of not only our Deputy but also the other inmates in the vehicle and citizens traveling the road that day,” Sallee wrote in a Facebook post.
The deputy jailer has made a recovery, and has already returned to work.
