(KRON) -- Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies received a "thank you" letter from a county jail inmate after two deputies helped save a motorcycle rider's life.
Deputies Walter Valle and Darwin Cano had recently completed a first aid training course in February when they spotted a severely injured woman who was bleeding heavily. The woman had been thrown from her motorcycle near Junction Avenue and Brennan Street in San Jose and she was lying in the street, according to the sheriff's office.
Deputy Valle applied a tourniquet to stop the woman's leg from bleeding and held her hand to keep her calm until San Jose Fire Department paramedics arrived. "I was so blessed that my partner and I were at the right place and at the right time to help Miss Owen," Valle said.
Deputies had just completed a CPR and first aid refresher course, preparing them for emergency situations beyond their usual duties. Sergeant Mario Perez said, "They relied on their instincts, training, and preparedness."
At a hospital, doctors were able to save Owen's leg. She is expected to make a full recovery.
Owen's son, who is currently incarcerated, submitted a heartfelt message to the sheriff's jail staff.
The son wrote, "I would like to thank both officers for saving my mother's life ... from the bottom of my heart. My mother is the world to me, and I would be lost if she passed."
A few days later, deputies Valle and Cano visited Owen in the hospital. She also thanked them, calling them "her angels for life," the sheriff's office wrote.