Shot in chest, Marine was dying. Here’s what Port Royal neighbors did to save him

It was 1:15 a.m. and Marine Lance Cpl. Jayden Pearman gasped for air as he lay on the ground in a Port Royal apartment complex parking lot. Moments before, a bullet had ripped through his chest and lodged in his lung, creating a sucking chest wound. The 23-year-old Marine with a wife and newborn would die without immediate help.

But lucky for Pearman, he had the right kind of neighbors in Matt Domanski and Julia Dale. Those two, who lived in the same apartment complex, rushed outside to investigate. It so happens that Domanski is a paramedic with the Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department. And Dale is an emergency room nurse at Beaufort Memorial Hospital.

Domanski and Dale are among the emergency medical personnel and police officers who are being credited for saving Pearman’s life after he was shot multiple times Nov. 1. At the time, Pearman and his wife lived at Abberly Pointe Apartments off of Highway 170 in Port Royal. She was awake tending to their baby when she heard his pickup being started and alerted Pearman, who rushed outside and confronted the suspects. His car was not stolen but he was shot during the struggle.

Luke Baxley, a Beaufort Memorial Hospital emergency room physician who serves as medical director of the Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department, described the actions of Domanski and Dale as a “crazy awesome story.”

Domanski and Dale demonstrated they had the right training and skill to work under the pressure of the clock to save a life, Baxley said. Those types of experiences, he added, are very rare despite impressions people may have of ER doctors and paramedics running around and saving people all the time.

But what impressed Baxley more is that Domanski and Dale ran outside in the wee hours of the morning to help a stranger when most people, after hearing gunshots, would lock the door — then they properly assessed the medical situation before them and showed the necessary “intestinal fortitude” to save Pearman.

“And that,” said Baxley, “deserves a round of applause.”

The Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department, Port Royal police and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort handed out awards for those involved in saving Pearman before a packed house at the Port Royal Town Council on Wednesday. Those in attendance included Pearman’s wife, child and mother. Somebody yelled out the Marine motto, “Semper fi” — always faithful— as the civilians were honored for saving the Marine.

To save Pearman’s life, Domanski poked a needle between his ribs and through the chest wall. That relieved air pressure that was making it difficult for Pearman to breathe. The procedure is known as a “needle decompression.” Domanski and Dale then got IVs into both of the young Marine’s arms, to assist with the blood loss before he was rushed to Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Then, en route, Aaron McIntyre, another Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department paramedic, performed a second needle decompression to relieve additional pressure.

Those two needle decompression procedures were the first to ever be performed by the department, said Ross Vezin, a spokesman for the Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department.

By the time he reached Beaufort Memorial, Pearman was in stable condition.

Pearman has been at the USMC Air Station in Beaufort for a little over a year. It’s his first duty station. The experience, he said, was humbling, giving him a new perspective on life. The best way to thank Port Royal’s and Beaufort’s finest, who helped him in his hour of need, is “to just continue to be the best person I can be and to keep being a better father and husband and a better Marine.”

The shooting is still under investigation while evidence is being processed at the lab, said Capt. John Griffith of Port Royal police.