Two journeyman linemen and a crew foreman at a Virginia electric cooperative were honored by local officials for their quick actions in saving the life of an elderly driver who had crashed her car after suffering a medical incident.
The Richmond County Board of Supervisors commended Northern Neck Electric Cooperative’s Craig Loving, Mark Evans and Martin Pinon in late November for their “courage, compassion and preparedness in the face of crisis” by performing lifesaving CPR and helping first responders remove the driver from her car at the accident site near Warsaw, Virginia.
Crew Foreman Craig Loving was driving home after his shift when he saw the accident unfold directly in front of him.
“I was behind her, and she made an immediate right and went across a field and into a drainage ditch,” Loving said. “Once she hit the ditch, the car was airborne, and I honestly thought the car was going to flip” before it came to a stop on the edge of a marsh, more than 30 feet from the road.
Loving pulled over and made his way down a steep incline to check on the driver. “I could see very shallow breathing, and I called 911,” he said.
Unbeknownst to Loving, Evans and Pinon were minutes behind, also on their way home and each in their own vehicles. Evans arrived first, followed by Pinon.
“I was behind them when all of this happened,” Pinon said. “I saw a lot of dust flying, and I thought it was a farmer on a tractor, plowing the field. But then I saw the car in the field and the amber lights on Craig’s truck.”
The ordeal, however, was far from over. The first of the two rescue squads to arrive needed the lineworkers’ help. Evans took over CPR while Loving helped an EMT retrieve equipment.
“I couldn’t tell you how much time had elapsed,” Evans said. “I was sore the next day, I know that.”
The men carried the driver up the incline and to the ambulance after EMTs determined it wasn’t safe to bring the stretcher up the hill with her strapped on it.
Annual refresher trainings on CPR and first aid, as well as a deep-rooted sense of concern for community, saved the day, the men said.
“Like with any training, the more times you practice, it becomes second nature and lets you react very quickly and efficiently with little thinking,” said NNEC Operations Manager Blaine Salmans. “I’m very proud of them for their ability to act quickly and in their willingness to take action when needed.”
And while the county recognition was an honor, a heartfelt thank-you note from the driver, Judy Laxague, now at home with a pacemaker, meant the most.
In her note, the driver wrote that she was on life support for two days in a Richmond, Virginia, hospital where she was transported by helicopter. “I am alive because of you,” she wrote. “[The] world needs more people like you.”
Victoria A. Rocha is a staff writer for NRECA.