Broken Arrow Solid Waste and Recycling workers save woman

Donna Darling, 78, chokes up when she talks about the three City of Broken Arrow Solid Waste and Recycling “angels” who came to her rescue on March 14.

It was about 8 a.m. when she remembered forgetting to put her trash outside her garage for pickup. Darling is on oxygen due to a heart ailment and walks with a three-wheeled walker.

"I jumped up, which I should not have done, and took off my oxygen because it didn't reach the garage," she said. "I hurried, opened the garage, got the trash out, and just collapsed."

Crew leader Damichael Roseborough and refuse helpers Gavin Drill and Joshua Medrano all saw the garage door open and Darling struggling.

"I could see her shaking a little bit, and so I knew something was off, something ain't right," Roseborough said. "So, I pulled up to her house and made a stop, and my guy was already up there helping her out."

Darling was leaning against the wall, and her legs were bent when she saw the trash truck coming up her street. Drill was walking up Darling's driveway to pick up her trash bag and take it back to the truck when he saw her struggling to stand.

"He said, 'Are you okay?' And I said, not really", so he stayed there with me and helped me until I could get up and into the house and on my oxygen again," Darling said.

"She was in no condition to be moving on her own and needed some assistance," Drill said. "When I walked her back into her house, it was cool. She hugged me and said, 'Thank God you were here.' It was awesome!"

Joshua Medrano, a Green Country Staffing employee, was filling in on the truck that day.

"It was just a pretty cool moment," he said. "You could tell Gavin was a good guy, and it was great to see."

Darling is thankful for the three men there to help her that cold March morning.

"It was a miracle, really. God puts angels in place when you need them," she said. "I just can't tell you how much it means that they were so kind and caring."

Darling returned the favor by calling the City of Broken Arrow's non-emergency number and gave what she called a "well-deserved compliment" to Dispatcher Sandi Ellard for the young men that saved her on that day.

"I don't know how long I would have been there if they hadn't done something that day,” Darling said.

She says she called the city because she wanted them to know what good employees they have.

There's not a lot of people who would be so kind and considerate," Darling said. "I love living in Broken Arrow, and I thank the City of Broken Arrow for having such good people."