Santa Fe officer now 'lifelong friends' with husband of teacher he saved
SANTA FE, Texas (KTRK) -- It's a call Scot Rice will never forget.
"She calls me and says she's been shot," said Scot.
The call was from his wife, Flo. She was a substitute teacher at Santa Fe High School.
As Scot rushed to the high school to get her, Santa Fe ISD police Officer Johnny Banda heard the call for help.
"I was actually working the junior high school when the call dropped and me and my partner rushed there, and we went through the back entrance of the school," Officer Banda said.
Officer Banda ran into Scot at the school.
"By him, frantically saying she was still alive, that he was talking to her on the phone," said Officer Banda.
Flo Rice had crawled out of the building and was lying on the grass. Scot said she was presumed dead.
Officer Banda grabbed Flo and carried her to Scot's car.
"He stepped in and did what he did to help and the two of us got to the hospital," Scot said.
"A day or two later, I was wondering, you know, was she still alive?," said Officer Banda.
He found her in the hospital and says knowing how she was doing weighed on his heart.
"She's somebody's mom and I didn't have that as a kid, and I remember what that was like. I always wanted a mom and a dad as a kid," said Officer Banda.
"He knows what it's like to have nothing, to come from nothing, to make something of yourself, he's just inspirational," Scot said.
Flo is now back home and she is going through rehabilitation. She has two rods in one leg. While she's healing physically, it's the emotional toll that haunts her.
"Emotionally, every day is a tough day. Anything can, voices or people, can bring fear back to her" Scot said.
In just five weeks, Flo's husband has remodeled their home to make it wheelchair accessible. Scot and Officer Banda talk everyday. They are now brothers for life.
"People say it's like blood brothers, but it's Flo's blood that brought us together," said Scot .
If you would like to donate to the Rice family, they have a GoFundMe account.
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