An off-duty police officer is being credited with saving the life of a driver during a medical emergency that led to a rush-hour crash on the Port Mann bridge last week.
The crash occurred at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 6.
New Westminster Police Const. Todd Sweet was on his way home when he saw that a vehicle had crashed head-on into a concrete barrier.
Sweet helped an off-duty officer with the Vancouver Police Department and members of the RCMP pull the man from the vehicle.
Sweet then began administering CPR as the others helped clear the driver's airway, stabilize his spine and direct traffic around the scene to allow an ambulance to approach.
The NWPD officer performed CPR for 20 minutes while the ambulance worked its way through the traffic jam, his colleagues said in a statement a week after the incident.
Eventually paramedics were able to reach the scene, and the man was rushed into surgery. He is currently recovering in an intensive care unit.
While NWPD Chief Dave Jones praised Sweet's efforts, the constable said he and the other officers were just in the right place at the right time.
"Whether you're on shift or not, you react and do what you've been trained to do," Sweet said.
Jones thanked both Sweet and the others for their help to save the man's life.
"The desire to help others in need isn't something our constables leave at the office," he said.
"You have to understand that the mentality of the people that get involved as first responders – whether it's police, fire, or EMS, it's basically in our heart, it's in our soul. It's what we do."
The incident resulted in a partial closure of the eastbound HOV and left lanes of the bridge. Highway 1 traffic was backed up all the way to the Burnaby Lakes area as a result of the bottleneck.
The bridge was fully reopened around 6:15 p.m., but due to lengthy backups, delays lasted well into the evening.
