Deputy credited with saving a life

A St. Mary Parish sheriff's deputy is being praised for quick action that saved a life.

Sgt. Justin Lagman drove a back-up battery for a patient's heart pump to Franklin Foundation Hospital on Tuesday and arrived just before the pump's primary battery ran out of power, the St. Mary Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the patient arrived at Franklin Foundation Tuesday with only an hour remaining on the heart pump battery. The back-up battery was with the patient's family in Thibodaux.

The patient contacted a family member and asked to have the battery driven to Franklin. Lagman met the relative on the road and took the back-up battery "as he could quickly and safely transport the battery to the hospital for the patient," the Sheriff's Office said.

Langman arrived at Franklin Foundation "just in time," the Sheriff's Office said.

Thibodaux is about 52 miles from Franklin.