Bodycam: N.J. Police Officer on 1st Solo Patrol Helps Save Driver After Heart Attack

New Jersey police—including an officer on his first day on solo patrol—performed CPR to revive a driver who suffered a heart attack and crashed into a telephone pole last month.

The amazing rescue happened just before 8:30 p.m. March 28 when Washington Township police officers responded to a report of a single-vehicle crash in front of an assisted living facility, the department stated in a news release posted to social media. The incident was just a block from police headquarters, and body camera footage of the response was included with the post.

When police reached the scene, they found the driver unresponsive and locked inside the vehicle. Officers smashed the vehicle's windows and quickly removed the woman, who wasn't breathing and had no pulse.

Officer Dante Moore, who was on his first solo patrol, began performing CPR on the woman, while his fellow used an automated external defibrillator (AED).

"Working together, they performed lifesaving measures for approximately seven minutes," the department stated.

The officers worked until medics arrived, and the woman was rushed to the hospital. Along with the heart attack, the driver also suffered broken ribs from CPR compressions, and she's expected to recover.

On Wednesday, the driver's family visited police headquarters to meet and thank the officers who saved the woman's life. 

"Outstanding work by all involved," the department stated. "This is what Community Caretaking policing is all about."