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May 7, 2008 11:18 pm US/Eastern
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Opposing Team's Coach Saves Player's Life
RISING SUN, Md. (WJZ) ―
Opponents become fast friends on the baseball diamond. It happened after a high school baseball player got hurt in a freak accident and a coach from the opposing team stepped in to save his life.
The two saw each other for the first time since that incident on Wednesday night.
Kathryn Brown has more on their reunion.
With each clink of the bat, Chris Culver's mind goes racing back to the day he almost lost his life.
"I was drowning in my own blood," he said.
Chris doesn't remember much, but pictures tell the story.
A star on the Rising Sun JV baseball team, Chris was batting in a game last week against Fallston High when an 80-mile-per-hour fastball hit him right in the face.
"And I just dropped," he said. "I stopped breathing on the field."
The first to reach him was Fallston's head JV coach, Dan Taylor.
"The pop of the ball hitting his face, I'll probably never forget," Taylor said.
Taylor got CPR training, as all coaches in Harford County are required to, and he knew just what to do to clear Chris's throat so he could breathe again.
"It saved the boy's life. I mean, I'm basically a tool," Taylor said.
"Just waking up every day, that's not a guarantee. That's not a promise," Culver said.
This was Chris' first time back on a field since his accident and his first time meeting the man who saved his life. He thinks now not only of what he can achieve but of how he can make the most of the second chance he's been given.
"I'm just thankful to be here right now, standing on a baseball field again. This is my passion. This is what I love to do. And if it wasn't for Mr. Taylor, I wouldn't be here right now," Chris said. "I'll always love him forever for doing that. He is truly my hero forever."
Coach Taylor is now on a mission. He wants to make sure every team in the state, whether high school or rec ball, has coaches who are trained to handle serious injuries.
Chris broke his nose in three places and suffered a concussion but says he'll be back on the field next year in time for spring practice.
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