Charlotte County Deputy Sergeant Elio Diaz was shot and killed outside a Chevron gas station in Port Charlotte off US-41 Sunday afternoon. A clerk at the station rushed to try to save his life and recounts her harrowing effort.
Michelle Prado, who was working at the Chevron gas station, witnessed the incident and immediately went to help the Sergeant Diaz.
"I need them to know I tried. I did, I really did try," Prado said. "I could see that he was breathing, and I was asking him, 'Sir, are you ok?' He said something to me, and I'm beating myself because I don't know what he said. He said something, I heard him say something, but I couldn't make it out."
Prado's shift started normally, but around 3 p.m. Sunday, she noticed something unusual when she saw a deputy pulling someone over on US-41, right across from the Sunseeker Resort.
"I kept looking out the window and saying something was not right. I went to look out the door and kept saying something's not right," Prado said.
Sheriff Bill Prummell stated that Diaz approached the vehicle to find Andrew Mostyn Jr., 24, in the driver's seat. Mostyn then pulled out a gun and shot Diaz.
"I grabbed my phone. I was in the process of calling 911 when I got to him," Prado said.
"I get up to him and said there's an officer down, and I could hear it in her voice. She started panicking. I was beyond panicked, and I just lost it. I knew I was screaming at her, but I didn't mean it," Prado added.
"I had blood all over my hand and my pants. I just wasn't going to leave him there," Prado said.
Prado risked her own life to try and save Diaz.
"I don't even know if he was gone at that point. I grabbed my phone, and I just ran. I didn't even see if he was still out there. What if he continued to shoot, or what if he shot at someone else, and I just ran right out there," Prado said.
"That's just me. I panicked over the smallest things, but with that, I didn't... I didn't panic," she added.
Sergeant Diaz was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. Prado did everything she could, trying her best to perform CPR until paramedics arrived.
"I feel like if I had taken a class, he would have made it, and he would have had a chance. If someone there knew what they were doing, he could have made it," Prado said.
"Now that it's over, I do think that he was too far because I remember seeing things," she added.
Mostyn was later shot and killed by a deputy at the Popeyes on Kings Highway, several miles away.
Prado wants Diaz's family to know she did everything she could.
"I need them to know I tried. I did, I really did try," she said.
Several deputies expressed their sorrow, calling it a sad day for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office and law enforcement along the Gulf Coast.
Corporal Diaz was promoted to Sergeant Diaz posthumously on Monday.
If you would like to learn CPR and take a free class, click here for a list of CPR courses in Southwest Florida .
