LUFKIN, Texas — Editor's Note: The above video aired on Jan. 1, 2024.
Because of quick actions from his family and first responders, a Deep East Texas man is healthy and without extensive brain damage after he was struck in the neck by celebratory gunfire on New Year's Day.
Danny McKenna, 67, was celebrating the New Year's holiday with his family in Lufkin when a round of gunfire from a neighboring home hit him just after midnight. After receiving treatment at the hospital, he was released in less than a week, the city of Lufkin said.
During the Jan. 17 meeting, the Lufkin City Council honored those who helped McKenna keep breathing before getting taken to the hospital with life-saving awards.
Family members Leslie Guerrero, Leo Gonzalez and his daughter Misty DelToro, who are largely nurses, jumped in and started giving CPR when he stopped breathing, the city of Lufkin said. Minutes later, Lufkin Police Officer Clayton Lozano, who was on his first day of the job, arrived and took over the chest compressions.
Lozano continued life-saving measures until Lufkin Fire Department medical crew, including firefighters Jordan Walker and Brock Pollino and Capt. Jason Stuck, took over and rushed McKenna to the hospital.
The same day, he was taken to a higher level of care. Although the circumstances didn't look good, McKenna was released from the hospital in under a week.
The city of Lufkin said that is the power of CPR.
"Immediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival after cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association," the city of Lufkin said in a Facebook post while also encouraging people to sign up for classes through local providers and online through Red Cross.