Canton Officers, Good Samaritans Help Save Man's Life
Police are trying to track down the name of the woman who performed CPR on the man found along I-575 at Hickory Flat Highway in Canton.
CANTON, GA — Three Canton police officers and two residents were able to save the life of a man who was found unresponsive over the weekend on Interstate 575. Officers responded around 12:11 p.m. Saturday, March 10 to a call of a person down on the northbound exit ramp to S.R. 140/Hickory Flat Highway.
Three units arrived to find Austin Gelder, 38, with no pulse and not breathing, Canton police said. The caller told officers she was giving Gelder a ride to the hospital "because he was feeling very ill." Another motorist pulled over and gave CPR to Gelder before officers made it to the scene.
Canton police Corporal Jose Souto and officers Kyle Harahus and Daniel Mendoza arrived at the location, and took over life-saving efforts that included CPR, administering breaths from a manual respirator and using an assigned Automated External Defibrillator.
The officers worked for several minutes, as they coordinated chest compressions, used the respirator and administered three shocks to the patient's heart from the AED. Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services personnel arrived and continued life-saving efforts before transporting Gelder to Northside Hospital Cherokee. Canton officers have since learned that Gelder is recovering and in stable condition due to their efforts.
"Our officers and these kind Samaritans were extremely calm, caring and worked as a team, which directly resulted in saving a human life," Police Chief Mark Mitchell said. "We are extremely grateful that Mr. Gelder is on his way to recovery. As proven before, the diligent mindset, attitude and heart set of our officers, partnership with our citizens and the addition of the AED devices to our fleet strengthens our abilities to protect, serve and improve the quality of life for our community."
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