Breath of life

By Nicole Williams
QUICK thinking and CPR brought a man back to life following a single car crash in Dandenong South last week.
The man, 52, crashed into a pole on the Princes Highway about 1pm on Wednesday 7 September and collapsed after getting out of the wreckage.
Intensive care paramedic Steve Grove said the man suffered a cardiac arrest and was having trouble breathing.
“Witnesses told us that the man was having severe trouble breathing just before he dropped to the ground,” Mr Grove said.
Two workers from a nearby business and trained in first aid called Triple-zero and were performing CPR, however he was unconscious and not breathing when CFA crews arrived.
Mr Grove and Hallam CFA senior station officer Greg Chapman said the two people saved his life by starting CPR.
“I commend all the efforts of those who stopped to help,” Mr Grove said.
“It can be confronting seeing someone, possibly a stranger, in a life or death situation.”
CFA crews used a defibrillator to shock the man’s heart.
“We took over with the defibrillator machine we had on the truck and managed to get a breath out of the man just as an ambulance arrived at the scene,” Mr Chapman said.
“At the end of the day, you just do what you’re trained to do but this does show the value of having the knowledge and skills in first aid – I believe it’s what turned the tide for this man.”
Once the man was stabilised he was taken to the Monash Medical Centre in a critical condition.