Published: Tuesday, Sep. 22, 2009
Stepping up to save a life: Strangers stop to help 71-year-old
The right people are around at the right time when man goes into cardiac arrest in Highway 101 traffic
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closeIf things hadn’t gone just right, George Allison would have died Friday evening on the Cuesta Grade.
But the 71-year-old who suffered cardiac arrest while stuck in traffic on Highway 101 south had the right people nearby at the right moment to save his life.
Family members, kind strangers and well-positioned law enforcement officials played key roles in his survival.
Allison was in the car with four family members on their way to visit his granddaughter, Nikol Allison, a freshman entering Cal Poly who’s on the Mustangs women’s basketball team.
It wasn’t long after 5:30 p.m. when Allison remembered seeing a road sign posted about an accident ahead and then cars slowing.
The rest is a blank, he says.
“We knew immediately that something was very wrong,” said Debbie Allison, George’s daughter-in-law. “When I saw him, I thought, ‘Oh my God.’ ”
Craig Allison, George’s son, who was driving, pulled the car over to help his father, who seemed to be choking and losing consciousness.
Debbie Allison’s phone reception failed and she flagged drivers to call 9-1-1. Craig got his father out of the car and tried giving him the Heimlich.
Daniel Lapidus, a passer-by in another car, assisted with the maneuver to clear the breathing passage but realized it wasn’t working.
Lapidus — a newly established San Luis Obispo dentist — recently finished his active duty with the Air Force. He had training in CPR.
“He wasn’t breathing, and he didn’t have a pulse,” Lapidus said. “I knew we had to give him CPR.”
Lapidus started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and a woman who was among the drivers stuck in traffic came to help with the chest compressions.
Meanwhile, Debbie Allison flagged a CHP helicopter crew that was monitoring the traffic from above, and a patrol car cleared motorists so the chopper could land on one of the highway lanes.
After about 10 minutes of CPR had been administered, CHP officers used a defibrillator device, and Allison’s heart began functioning on its own.
Minutes later an ambulance arrived to take him to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.
“I’ve been in the business a long time, and I’ve never seen anyone survive in his condition like that after CPR and all,” said Scott Clays, a CHP flight officer medic who assisted with the response.
Allison was released from French Hospital Medical Center on Monday morning.
The retired lawyer living in Carson City, Nev., and his family from Davis call the event a miracle.
They want to thank all who helped — including the mystery woman.
“I know sometimes people don’t want to stop and help because they just don’t want to get involved,” Allison said Monday in his hospital room. “But these folks didn’t hesitate. It’s good to know there are a lot of good folks out there.”
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