May 14, 2008 1:04 pm US/Eastern
Congressman Cummings Cradled Dying New Father
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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Claudia Sales last saw her husband Carlos Santay while she was in labor Saturday afternoon.
CBS
Carlos Santay-Carillo never got to see his firstborn son. While getting gas to take his pregnant wife Claudia to the hospital to give birth, he was stabbed multiple times.
Mike Hellgren reports the brutal robbery attempt happened at a gas station on Baltimore National Pike.
Congressman Elijah Cummings arrived on the scene to get gas just seconds after it happened and got the shock of his life.
"It was just a horrifying event. I thought I was dreaming. He was really gasping for air. It just took my breath away to be frank with you," said Congressman Cummings.
Cummings showed
Eyewitness News the spot where he cradled the dying man's body in his arms.
"I could see blood just gushing out. I replay it all the time. It doesn't even seem real," said Cummings.
Family members waited to tell the mother her husband had died until after she'd given birth to little Carlos Jr.
"That's a horrible way for his wife to experience Mother's Day. On the one hand, she experiences the birth of her child. On the other, she loses the father of her child," said Cummings.
"If I had been here just 25 seconds earlier, I'm sure I would have been right where he was," said Cummings.
As he held the victim, who was a recent immigrant from Guatemala, Cummings tried to calm him down, quickly dialing a friend who speaks Spanish.
"I said 'how do you say, stay down and it's going to be alright.' I kept saying over and over again, 'stay down, it's going to be alright,'" said Cummings.
Police scoured the neighborhood again, searching for any clues. Without surveillance video and a good description of the suspect, they need any leads they can get.
"I could kind of see why he was so determined, not only to live, but to get back to her," said Cummings.
It's a true tragedy. A son will never know his father and a mother was grieving on what should have been the happiest day of her life.
"I've seen a lot, but this is one of the most painful things I've seen in my life," said Cummings. "He fought. He fought. He fought until the end."
You can make a donation to the Santay-Sales fund at any Bank of America.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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