Spiro Mail Carrier Credited With Saving Elderly Woman’s Life

Betty Carroll stops by 1,091 mailboxes on her daily route, but Monday, May 2 was different than usual.

“I noticed at Ms. Lockaby's house that I stuck her newspaper in her box, and she hadn't taken her newspapers out for the last few days.  I knew that was strange for her because she gets them every day," Carroll told KFSM, the CBS affiliate in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

She also noticed Dorothy Lockaby’s car windows had been rolled down for days and the grass in her yard was overgrown. Carroll just felt like something wasn’t right, so she knocked on the door.

“The TV was really loud, and I thought that I heard moaning, but I wasn't for sure, so I knocked again. I was like, ‘It’s the mailman,’ and then I heard what sounded like ‘Get me help right away,' or ‘Go the heck away.’ I wasn't for sure, so I went ahead and called the local police to do a welfare check on her,” Carroll said.

It turns out Lockaby had fallen and she had been laying on the floor for days.  Now Carroll has gained a new perspective on her job.

“Maybe this is where I need to be for now for this moment” she said. "I really believe God puts us where he wants us at the time."

Carroll went to visit Lockaby in the hospital on Tuesday and KFSM reports she is expected to be OK.