A rookie Georgia cop is being hailed as a hero after responding down a trail to aid a collapsed marathon runner and then providing CPR for more than 10 minutes. The runner survived and the officer’s efforts were captured on dash camera video.
Powder Springs Police Officer Carson Yates responded Oct. 29 when a marathon runner collapsed on the Silver Comet Trail, a popular paved trail through the woods. Dash camera video showed other runners gathered around the man who had stopped breathing and showed no signs of life, police tell FOX5.
Yates, who is still in his first year with the department, arrived with his sergeant and immediately began rendering aid.
"He had a clogged artery, just passed out, heart stopped," says Yates. "My first thought was just to try to get some sort of breath into him, just try to stabilize him until EMS comes.”
The Powder Springs Police Department reports Yates continued CPR until EMS arrived and took over treatment. At that point, the man regained a pulse and consciousness. The young officer said he relied on his training learned in the police academy.
“Without a doubt, if it was not for the quick actions of the citizens on the trail who immediately began taking care of this stranger, and the endurance of Officer Yates, the Silver Comet would have claimed another life. Thankfully, this man will live to conquer the Silver Comet again another day,” the department posted on social media.