Radio Rescue: Host Drew Garabo sends help for caller in need

An ordinary phone call became an extraordinary situation on live radio Friday afternoon, when a local radio host let his instincts kick in and potentially saved a local woman’s life.

Drew Garabo, the host of Drew Garabo Live on 102.5 The Bone, typically takes calls about hot topics being discussed on his daily program, but a phone call Friday afternoon took an unusual turn.

A woman named "Nicole" called in, and mentioned immediately that she had broken her hand. She then quickly changed the subject, but Drew felt something was off, and started asking questions.

"Can we talk about how you fell and what you fell on, ‘cause that more intrigues me than the atheism versus gay thing,” he said, pushing their original topic to the side, and her well-being to the forefront.

The caller originally claimed to have fallen, but after Drew’s questioning, the true source of her injury was revealed.

“What happened was I grabbed my boyfriend's phone because he texts people he shouldn't be texting, and he grabbed my hand and snapped it,” she said, her voice shaking.

“That's not a fall,” Drew pressed, before asking if she called the cops.

It turned out she hadn’t yet called the cops, saying her boyfriend’s actions could have been accidental, but after 40 minutes on the line with Drew, that changed.

He encouraged Nicole and her boyfriend to get to a safe place— a church just down the street from them, where they met with deputies to resolve the situation.  

Nicole’s boyfriend reportedly admitted to having a drug problem, and expressed interest in getting help.

The call ended with Nicole thanking Drew and the show for what they did.

“It was one of those things where you’re immersed in it, and you really can’t get a gauge on what’s really happening,” Garabo explained during an interview with FOX 13 Monday morning. “I just did what I thought was the right thing to do by keeping them on the line, directing them to a place where a Pasco County Sheriff’s Deputy could meet them, and both of them could get the help that they needed.”

It was the right thing to do, and according to Garabo, it will forever impact how he deals with callers in the future.

“It’s really made me reconsider just how we talk to people, and how we get involved in people’s lives,” he said. “There was a reason I was there, and there was a reason she called, and I’m just really glad that it had the outcome that it did.”