Pridestar Trinity is hailing an off-duty paramedic for letting his instincts take over when he came across an overturned car recently on Interstate 495 in Haverhill.
The company, identifying its employee only as Roland from Hudson, N.H., said Roland was traveling south on the highway Friday, Dec. 1, when he came across a car that veered off the road and flipped over the guardrail.
“As Roland came upon the upside-down vehicle, a group of people were trying to push the car right side up. That is when he and fellow first responder, Assistant Chief Michael Moriarty from MassPort Fire, took over the scene. They asked the group to stop pushing the vehicle and assessed the patient, who had no pulse. They then unclipped the individual and were able to extricate the individual out the back window of the vehicle. Roland noticed no trauma to the patient and immediately suspected a medical episode,” the company said in a statement.
Roland has been in emergency medical services for 40 years and a paramedic for 37 of them.
The paramedic called dispatched and informed them of the situation and that CPR was in progress. He carries a small medical bag for just such situations. The Haverhill Fire Rescue truck and Massachusetts State Police were soon after on the scene. They were able to put an automated external defibrillator on the patient and continued their efforts to save the person’s life. Pridestar Trinity took the patient to Lawrence General Hospital.
“What made the whole experience exceptional was the amazing teamwork and collaboration of the entire group. There was no yelling or screaming. The scene was calm, organized and efficient—a true professional scene,” Pridestar Trinity officials said.