From hundreds of miles away, a ham radio operator saved his friend's life

An accidental phone call led to a man in California saving the life of his friend in Oregon.

Bill Scott lives in Manteca, California, and for the last 40 years has been an amateur radio operator. He takes his radio with him everywhere, and regularly chats with friends from around the world. In June, Scott received a phone call from a person whose voice sounded very familiar, but garbled. He thought it was a prank call, Scott told CBS Sacramento, until the person on the line said, "You are an amateur radio operator."

The man speaking was Skip Kritcher, one of Scott's ham radio friends who lives in Myrtle Point, Oregon. Kritcher had fallen down inside his house and needed help, but he was struggling to see the numbers on his cell phone, and accidentally dialed Scott. It was a good thing that he did: Scott's wife, Sharon, is a retired nurse, and after hearing Kritcher's slurred speech and the confusion in his voice, she told her husband his friend was having a stroke.

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Bill Scott told CBS Sacramento he was "nervous because I didn't want to lose my friend," and quickly called 911. He had visited Kritcher's house before, and explained to first responders how to get there. The Scotts were told that if Kritcher hadn't received help so quickly, he wouldn't have survived, but he's now on the road to recovery. "It's pretty awesome, they are great people you know," Kritcher said. "I'm just glad I called them."