For Immediate Release

August 28, 2017

Walton County, Fla— An Alabama woman is alive thanks to the quick actions of good Samaritans who helped save her life over the weekend.

Just after 10 AM Saturday, Walton County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a motor vehicle crash on US Highway 331 S and Wagon Wheel Road in Freeport. Walton County Fire Rescue firefighters and paramedics were dispatched and arrived on scene within minutes to find bystanders performing CPR on the 62 year-old woman who was lying unconscious next to a vehicle. The victim had gone into cardiac arrest while driving home from the beach and crashed into a culvert on the side of the highway.

Witnesses say they saw the car run off the road and immediately stopped to assist. When they realized the driver was unconscious in the vehicle, they broke the window, pulled the victim out of the car and immediately began performing CPR. The woman’s son-in-law, a professional firefighter/paramedic with Decatur Fire and Rescue, arrived shortly after and began assisting with CPR efforts.

Once on scene, Walton County Fire Rescue paramedics began performing advanced life support efforts on the victim who began to regain consciousness on the way to a local hospital.

“The bystanders are the true heroes here,” says Fire Chief Russell Beaty, “Their quick thinking and brave actions, along with the firefighters and paramedics life-saving efforts, saved this woman’s life.”

The victim was further stabilized by staff at a nearby hospital before being airlifted to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center where she is currently being treated.