New Jersey Mail Carrier Honored For Saving Customer's Life

BERKLEY HEIGHTS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A letter carrier in Union County is being celebrated for saving the life of one of her customers.

For Principelina Mendes, better known as "princess," delivering mail may be her job but the USPS carrier took on a different role about two weeks ago when she became Salvatore Melillo's guardian angel.

"My mom is sick and I know how it is. That's why I keep my eye on all of them, cause I know how it is," Mendes said.

Mendes was delivering mail to Melillo's home on Saturday, Dec. 10 when she noticed something wasn't right and followed her gut instinct.

"I went to the driveway and picked up the phone book and newspaper, screaming his name, I said 'Sal!' And the door opened, there's three steps right there, and Sal was laying on the floor, ice cold, with shorts on. His eyes were all black and blue, his lips were purple and I went on the floor and I caressed him," Mendes said.

She called 911 and stayed with him.

"I said, don't' go, I'm here with you, you don't leave us, we need you Sal," Mendes said.

"Do you think he heard you?" Medgie asked.

"Yes, cause tears were rolling down his eyes," Mendes replied.

Once help arrived, she continued her route and never said a thing until one of Melillo's family members wrote a letter of appreciation to the letter master.

"One day I stopped the mail person, and she was off that day. So I did come back looking for her," Melillo's son Ed said.

On Thursday, Mendes was honored for her quick-thinking, life-saving action during a ceremony at the post office.

"It's your job, but for us it's more than your job. You are, as they said, a huge part of our community and we do appreciate it," Sal's niece, Carla Pastore, told Mendes. "You know when something's not right. You followed you're gut, so thank you."

"Had she not gotten there, I really don't' think he would be here today," Pastore added.

While CBS2 was in the neighborhood on Thursday, Princess was finishing her route and ran into Ed and his sister Victoria.

"I did it from my heart," she said.

"There's not enough words to say," Victoria said.

Mendes said Sal is "my family" and has been since she became his letter carrier sixteen years ago.

Melillo just got out of intensive care, and is recovering at Morristown Memorial Hospital.