A former McComb resident received the key to the city of Bartlett, Tenn., for his heroic efforts following a tragic accident that severed the leg of an AT&T worker.
Quenton Mullins, 36 of Bartlett, saved the man’s life on Jan. 9.
Mullins was driving in the Memphis suburb when he saw a black SUV hit AT&T worker Michael Stephens, who was standing beside his work vehicle.
“I didn’t know the gentleman that was hit. I was on my way home when a man driving a black SUV hit the AT&T worker. The impact detached one of the worker’s leg at the knee and severely damaged the other. The AT&T worker suffered from a broken neck and other life-threatening injuries,” Mullins said.
Stephens also suffered a gash in his head that required 30 stitches and other serious injuries.
Mullins, a regional pharmacy director for Sam’s Club, said he was on his way from a local psychiatric hospital where he was working, when he saw the accident occur.
Mullins said he and another witness immediately pulled over and stopped to help.
The driver of the SUV panicked, Mullins said.
“The man in the black SUV became hysteric. He kept screaming that he has an expired license, he thought he’d killed a man, and that he was going to jail for life,” Mullins said.
Meanwhile, Stephens was in bad shape and losing a lot of blood. Using his pharmacy background, Mullins deduced that Stephens may have been taking a blood thinner.
“We had to keep the man calm and one man stabilized. I immediately went into action,” he said. “I took off my belt and created a tourniquet to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.”
Mullins said that he found the man’s severed leg across the street and retrieved it for paramedics.
“I went and found the severed leg and I put it in a plastic bag for the first responders so that if it could be saved, they would have it,” Mullins said.
He stayed by the man’s side until paramedics arrived.
“The first responders arrived within five to six minutes of the accident happening. The responders stabilized him and took him to the hospital,” Mullins said.
The Commercial Appeal newspaper reported that Stephens had worked with AT&T for 15 years.
Mullins’ father-in-law is Pike County Sheriff’s Department Chief Investigator Greg Martin, who shared the story on Facebook.
“My father-in-law is a big supporter of McComb and loves to share stories that put McComb in a positive light,” Mullins said.
Bartlett Mayor A. Keith McDonald gave Mullins a reception in the mayor’s office, with Police Chief Gary Rickard on hand.
Mullins and his wife, Emily Martin-Mullins, are both natives of McComb. They have lived in Bartlett for three years. Mullins graduated from McComb High in 1998.
Mullins is the son of the late Sandra and Johnny Boss. Mullins said his mother died when he was 12 and he was raised by his great grandmother, Mary B. Jackson. Mrs. Jackson died Feb. 6 at the age of 100.
Mullins played football for McComb High School and went on to graduate from Xavier University in New Orleans, with a doctorate in pharmacy.
He oversees pharmacy operations at Sam’s Club stores throughout the Southeast.
