Starbucks employee saves customer's life

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — A Starbucks employee said his Boy Scout training came in handy when he helped a customer in distress.

Kurt Vaughn, then 19, said his morning shift on Aug. 14 took an alarming turn when a man passed out on the store's patio. A customer rushed into the store asking if anyone knew CPR, Vaughn told The Desert Sun. That's when his Boy Scout training kicked in and he took control of the situation.

Vaughn said he is not certified in CPR, but the training he received years before as a Boy Scout served him well in keeping Mike Furtado, 66, alive until paramedics arrived.

Furtado, who was in cardiac arrest, was rushed to the hospital and placed in a medically-induced coma. He is doing better now, The Desert Sun reported. When Furtado awoke, he had no memory of being at Starbucks, so it wasn't until company representatives called the family to find out how he was doing that the whole story was revealed.

Furtado told The Desert Sun that the young barista is his hero. Vaughn plans on becoming an EMT.

Cox Media Group