Photo: Nissan Motors
Karl Harrison did heroic duty by saving an elderly cyclist from a heart attack.
It was just another day as Harrison was on his way to work at the Nissan Sunderland Plant on Thursday morning.
On his trip in, Harrison spotted a 76-year-old man who collapsed while riding his bicycle along the side of Washington Road.
Fortunately for the man, Harrison had received first aid training as part of his Quality Assurance job at Nissan from the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), and when he realized the cyclist had gone into cardiac arrest, he immediately started to perform chest compressions while a colleague called 999.
Paramedics and police quickly arrived on the scene, and the medical team revived the gentlemen with the assistance of a defibrillator. The victim was rushed to the hospital where authorities say he’s currently in a stable condition. They say Harrison’s intervention surely saved the man’s life.
PC Mary-Anne Hutchison of Northumbria Police visited the Sunderland Plant and personally thanked Harrison for his efforts and provided an update on the older gentleman’s condition.
“There is no doubt that the CPR delivered by Karl in the moments after the cyclist collapsed have saved his life,” Hutchison said. “He did not think twice about intervening and delivering first aid to this stranger who had collapsed in front of him on his morning commute. We have spoken to the cyclist’s family and he is stable in hospital and very grateful to Karl for what he did that day.”
Harrison, 43, lives in Hartlepool and said he’s glad he was there to help.
“It’s not what you expect at about 7 am on your way into work, but human instinct to help just kicks in. When I did my CPR training with Nissan and the Ambulance Service I hoped I’d never have to use it, but this just shows why it is so important to get this training,” he said of his heroic effort. “I don’t even normally drive that way – by chance, I had taken a detour to a newsagents on my way in. It was a collective effort from me and some other passers-by to keep him alive until the paramedics arrived. I’m just glad he’s going to be ok.”
Dr Michael Norton, deputy medical director at North East Ambulance Service, said that cardiac arrest can strike anybody, at any time, in any place, and added that every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chances of survival of those sticken by 10 per cent.
On his trip in, Harrison spotted a 76-year-old man who collapsed while riding his bicycle along the side of Washington Road.
Fortunately for the man, Harrison had received first aid training as part of his Quality Assurance job at Nissan from the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), and when he realized the cyclist had gone into cardiac arrest, he immediately started to perform chest compressions while a colleague called 999.
Paramedics and police quickly arrived on the scene, and the medical team revived the gentlemen with the assistance of a defibrillator. The victim was rushed to the hospital where authorities say he’s currently in a stable condition. They say Harrison’s intervention surely saved the man’s life.
PC Mary-Anne Hutchison of Northumbria Police visited the Sunderland Plant and personally thanked Harrison for his efforts and provided an update on the older gentleman’s condition.
“There is no doubt that the CPR delivered by Karl in the moments after the cyclist collapsed have saved his life,” Hutchison said. “He did not think twice about intervening and delivering first aid to this stranger who had collapsed in front of him on his morning commute. We have spoken to the cyclist’s family and he is stable in hospital and very grateful to Karl for what he did that day.”
Harrison, 43, lives in Hartlepool and said he’s glad he was there to help.
“It’s not what you expect at about 7 am on your way into work, but human instinct to help just kicks in. When I did my CPR training with Nissan and the Ambulance Service I hoped I’d never have to use it, but this just shows why it is so important to get this training,” he said of his heroic effort. “I don’t even normally drive that way – by chance, I had taken a detour to a newsagents on my way in. It was a collective effort from me and some other passers-by to keep him alive until the paramedics arrived. I’m just glad he’s going to be ok.”
Dr Michael Norton, deputy medical director at North East Ambulance Service, said that cardiac arrest can strike anybody, at any time, in any place, and added that every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chances of survival of those sticken by 10 per cent.
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