Metropolitan police officers were called on to be paramedics Monday after a man was pulled from a car with a faint pulse and barely breathing.
The dramatic rescue took place at 5 p.m. on 11th Street Northwest near Rhode Island Avenue. A man, who was unresponsive inside a car at a stop light, was removed from the vehicle and placed on the ground.
“I took him. His lips were blue,” said the witness who helped pull the man from the car. “(It) was something more than just being tired.”
One officer hooked the victim up to an AED, an automatic external defibrillator, but the machine determined the man's heart did not need a shock. The officers continued the CPR continued until paramedics arrived.
Eventually, the man was able to stand and get on the stretcher. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to be OK.
It was a coordinated effort between police officers and medics to save a life as dozens of people watched. But it was a situation that emergency crews said they face all the time.
“It was dramatic for your footage,” said D.C. Fire and EMS Department Capt. Brent Panek. “We see this every day, 365 days a year.”
