PITTSBURGH — Back in July, Channel 11 news anchor Susan Koeppen was waiting to turn left at busy Penn Avenue and South Dallas in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze.
“As his car drifted by me, I said, ‘I’m going to watch this guy because he doesn’t look right.’ I watched him, he drifted right by me, and jumped the curb and crashed right here into the fence,” Koeppen said.
The man behind the wheel had suffered a cardiac arrest. Susan ran to help him.
“I knew immediately he was in cardiac arrest. I popped his seat belt and grabbed him under the armpits and I started dragging him out of his car and at that point I needed help and I said whoever’s behind me grab his legs,” she said.
Right behind her was Dustin Kovalcik who was making a delivery for Don’s Appliances.
“I hurried up and called 911 and let them know the location and I ran over to lend a helping hand,” Kovalcik said.
They laid him down right here on Penn Avenue.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen to him, and I was scared for him. I didn’t know what was wrong with him, I just knew he needed CPR,” Susan said.
After several minutes of CPR by Susan, a police officer from Pittsburgh’s Zone 4 took over. Then firefighters from Engine 17. Ems arrived in just minutes.
“They were amazing, absolutely amazing,” Susan said.
Here’s the reality of cardiac arrest – it’s 90 percent fatal when it happens outside a hospital. Immediate CPR by a good Samaritan gives people a fighting chance.
Susan knows that well – back in 2011 she suffered cardiac arrest while running in Shadyside. Two medical students jumped out of their car and gave her CPR.
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“We know that layperson CPR triples the chances of a person going home to their family,” Dr. Ankur Doshi from UPMC said. “So having someone who’s on the scene who is willing to help to do basic skills to save someone’s life is really important.”
And 2 months after his cardiac arrest, Mark Symms got to meet the woman who pulled him from his car.
Mark has no memory of that day, so Susan filled in what she could.
“When you hear all that, what goes through your mind?” Susan asked.
“Miracle, angel, you are an angel, I mean,” Symms said.
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Mark doesn’t know why he suffered cardiac arrest but he’s feeling good, enjoying time with his sons and grandkids – and of course rooting for the Steelers. We surprised him with a video message from Jerome Bettis.
“Hey Mark, Jerome Bettis here. I heard about your story, man, and I am hoping for the best and wishing you well. Here we go, Steelers, here we go, take care,” Bettis told Mark.
Mark is still trying to make sense of it all.
“I find it unbelievable. I mean, come on, you’re lying. That didn’t happen, but it did,” Mark said.
But he knows he beat the odds.
“So appreciate today and have hope for tomorrow,” Mark said.
There’s more to the story – Dustin who called 911. He is also a sudden cardiac arrest survivor. He was saved back in 2013.
To learn hands-only CPR, you can watch a 1-minute video here.
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