An Island County Sheriff's deputy who lost his job due to budget cuts is being credited with saving a woman's life during his last week on the job, according to the Whidbey News-Times.

The deputy, Robert Mirabal, was patrolling in Greenbank about 2:30 a.m. Sunday when he saw a woman walking on the side of the road. Mirabal stopped to speak to the woman and noticed she had injuries to her face.

He persuaded her to go to Whidbey General Hospital, according to the News-Times.

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Turns out the 51-year-old woman had been severely beaten by her boyfriend. In addition to a fractured vertebrae, extensive bruising and bites, she also sustained a subarachnoid hematoma, a potentially fatal condition involving bleeding in the area between the brain and surrounding tissue.

The woman was eventually airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for additional treatment. Detective Sgt. Mike Beech of the Island County Sheriff's Office said the woman was in satisfactory condition Monday afternoon.

The woman's boyfriend was arrested.

The News-Times reports Mirabal was the only deputy who was laid off during county budget cuts in December.