Dangerous Escape from Navy Yard
BLITZER: It was one of the first images captured in the chaos after Monday's horrific Navy Yard massacre right here in Washington -- a woman on the ground desperately trying to save her colleague's life. But no one was entirely sure if it was directly related to the shooting, until now. Our own Brian Todd has had a chance to speak with this woman and she's got some really unimaginable details to share. What did you learn -- Brian?</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, Wolf, this woman,, says when she first heard the shots, she thought someone had dropped a table. Before she knew it, she was taking cover and her good friend was gravely injured.</s>TODD (voice-over): Vividly recalls her friend's face, remembers how moments after he got hit in the temple by a gunshot inside their office at the Navy Yard, she thought she could save him.</s>BERTILLA LAVERN, TRIED TO SAVE FRIEND FROM SHOOTING:  LAVERN: I felt him breathe.</s>TODD: Lavern says she was just a few feet away from her friend and co-worker, Vishnu Pandit, when gunshots slammed all around their office. She never saw the shooter. (on camera): You almost got hit yourself, right?</s>LAVERN: Yes. The bullet missed me because we were already -- I was already moving. And so the bullet missed me and it shattered the glass right next to where my head was.</s>TODD (voice-over): Pandit was down. But Lavern says when she checked his pulse, it was strong. She and her co-workers ignored their own safety. And what happened next, while the shooter was still on his rampage, is right out of a movie.</s>LAVERN: The security guard showed up. And, they helped me get him to a chair to wheel him to the stairs. We put him in the emergency evacuation chair and I was talking to him and praying the whole entire time.</s>TODD: What were you saying to him?</s>LAVERN: I prayed that God would protect him and that we need him here, and that his friends loved him.</s>TODD: Lavern, a former navy medical specialist, says at that point, Pandit's pulse was still strong, but there was another problem trying to get her friend, who had the nickname Keesan, out of the building. Did you know where the shooter was at this time?</s>LAVERN: No. And I really didn't care. We had to get Keesan out. That was the important thing.</s>TODD: As they were descending the stairs, they heard over a guard's radio that the shooter was right in the direction they were heading. (on-camera) Bertillia Lavern says they managed to sneak out a side door, got Pandit to a law enforcement vehicle which then sped outside the base to this corner. (voice-over) That's where these images were captured. Bertillia Lavern, the woman in pink, administering CPR, desperately trying to save her friend.</s>LAVERN: And then the ambulance showed up. They strapped him in. All of this happened within a few minutes of time, but it felt like a lifetime.</s>TODD: Vishnu Pandit (ph) died on the way to the hospital. A doctor later said his injuries were not survivable. Lavern now describes her feelings for the man she used to joke with every morning.</s>LAVERN: That I miss him and that I won't be able to say good morning to him, that I will not be able to say good morning to him. But, I know that he's in my heart and I know that his family loves him so much.</s>TODD (on-camera): Bertillia Lavern says Vishnu Pandit (ph) had recently welcomed a grandchild who she described as the light of his life. He was buried yesterday.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And I know she also describes the heroism of others during those truly terrifying moments.</s>TODD: She does. She says that her supervisor, a man named Andy Kelley (ph), was fearless risks his life to go get help. She also says the security guards who helped her carry Vishnu Pandit out of the building actually formed a human cordon around her as they were making their way down the stairs. By the way, at certain points toward the shooter, so that in any event the shooter came toward them, they would protect her. I mean, incredible acts of heroism there.</s>BLITZER: Incredible, indeed. A wonderful woman. I'm glad you did that report. Brian, thanks very much. Still ahead, mixed reports on whether Bashar al-Assad is following through on the deal to give up his chemical weapons. Could the best chance for peace still mean war? We're going to talk about that. And a disturbing video of a pedestrian hit by an SUV. Wait until you hear and see who is behind the wheel.