Sep 9, 2014 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Two Waynesburg police officers and a Waynesburg resident were commended Monday by Waynesburg Police Chief Rob Toth for the life-saving medical treatment they gave to a man suffering a heart attack in May.

Prior to the Waynesburg Borough Council meeting, Toth presented officers Marcus Simms and Jorel Hanley and resident Elaine Cumberledge with the borough’s life saving award.

“This man is still alive as a result of the actions of these officers and a local citizen,” Toth said, congratulating the three award recipients. “They showed leadership; they took the bull by the horns and did what they had to do,” he said.

The officers had received training in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and first aid with the department, Toth said. In this instance, their training helped make a difference, he said.

It also was helpful that Cumberledge, who is the wife of Bryan Cumberledge, assistant borough manager, is a licensed practical nurse, Toth said.

Police received a call at 6:15 p.m. May 28 to respond to a man unresponsive in a pickup truck on Cherry Alley at High Street.

Cumberledge had seen the man slumped over the seat of the truck as she drove by on High Street and drove around the block to check him. She called 911.

According to the incident report, Simms arrived at the scene and was told the man was not breathing and had no pulse. He checked for a pulse and found none. He then pulled the man from the vehicle and laid him on the ground to begin CPR.

Cumberledge helped Simms move the man farther from the vehicle to give them room to work. She also started performing chest compressions.

Simms called 911 to inform them CPR was being administered and to ask dispatchers to expedite an ambulance to the scene. He also called Hanley and asked him to bring the automated external defibrillator from the station.

When Hanley arrived, he and Cumberledge placed the AED on the man. The AED checked for a pulse and advised no shock be administered.

Cumberledge and the officers continued to perform CPR until an ambulance from EMS Southwest arrived and its emergency medical personnel took over, successfully returning a pulse to the man.

Toth said a representative from EMS Southwest told him later that if the officers and Cumberledge had not acted, the man would have died.

“This save is an excellent representation of what can be accomplished when the first responders provide early intervention,” EMS paramedic Douglas Downs and EMT Renee Kider said in an email to the borough. “With early identification of a cardiac arrest and on scene CPR, including the use of an AED, the officers gave this individual a fighting chance,” the email said