By John Dignam
Telegram & Gazette (Massachusetts)
Copyright 2006 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.
DUDLEY, Mass. — A quick response by several people who were in Dudley District Court Tuesday morning apparently saved the life of a Hyde Park man who suffered a heart attack in a courtroom.
A court officer, emergency medical technician, police officer and lawyer joined to get the man’s heart started again and provide him with oxygen, as the Dudley ambulance rushed to the courthouse.
“Based on the information they gave us, it unquestionably saved the man’s life,” Fire Capt. David Konieczny said of the response at the court.
Capt. Konieczny said the Dudley ambulance took the man, identified as Jose L. Batista, 61, of Hyde Park, to St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester. He said Mr. Batista was conscious and being treated at the hospital when Dudley emergency medical services personnel last saw him.
A hospital spokesman said yesterday that no information could be given on whether Mr. Batista had been treated and released or whether he was a patient.
Courthouse personnel said the court had returned to session just after 10 a.m. Tuesday, when a man called out that he thought his friend was having a heart attack.
Court Officer Raymond P. Petrone immediately moved to Mr. Batista, who was “gurgling and choking, his eyes rolling up into his head” and whose color was described as “gray and purple.”
Mr. Petrone knelt in front of Mr. Batista and was about to check his pulse when Mr. Batista vomited and fell into Mr. Petrone’s arms.
As the courtroom was being cleared, Mr. Petrone lowered Mr. Batista to the floor and was joined by Lucas M. Lacaire of 2 Apricot St., Worcester, a Westover Air Force Base emergency medical technician, who was in court on a motor vehicle matter, as was Mr. Batista.
They ripped open Mr. Batista’s shirt and Mr. Lacaire applied the leads of a semiautomatic external defibrillator that is kept at the courthouse to Mr. Batista’s chest. The defibrillator provided one shock that restored Mr. Batista’s heart rhythm.
Oxford Police Officer Jeromy T. Grniet administered one series of chest compressions, while Worcester lawyer Albert G. Hayeck provided oxygen that he had in his vehicle.
“We walked in with all our equipment, and the patient was breathing on his own,” Capt. Konieczny said.
“By coincidence, all the right people were in all the right places,” said Mr. Hayeck, a former paramedic and scuba diver who keeps oxygen handy in case of a diving emergency. He said it was the second time in six months he has used the oxygen for a medical emergency.
“Everybody just jumped right to it and did what they had to do,” Mr. Hayeck said. “There was no panic, even among the people sitting in the courtroom when the judge cleared the courtroom.”
Clerk Magistrate Kenneth F. Candito said the courtroom was empty and quiet as Mr. Petrone and Mr. Lacaire tended to Mr. Batista. He said Mr. Batista was not breathing until the defibrillator was used.
He said all involved worked quickly, calmly and confidently, and he believed their efforts saved Mr. Batista’s life.
“It was really a wonderful statement about everybody pulling together,” Mr. Candito said.
Mr. Lacaire, 29, an EMT at the Westover Air Force Reserve Base for several months, said a court official who noticed his military uniform asked him if he was a medic.
“I said I’m not a medic, but I’m an EMT,” he said.
Mr. Lacaire, who said his goal is be a Worcester firefighter, said it was the first time he ever used an automatic external defibrillator. He said he worked on Mr. Batista until Dudley paramedics arrived.
“I’m a pretty humble guy, but to be honest with you, I’m kind of proud of myself,” said Mr. Lacaire, a firefighter for 11 years, including four in Spencer.
A firefighter has a general idea on what he is facing when he arrives at a blaze, Mr. Lacaire said, but the situation in Dudley District Court caught him off guard. His training took over, he said, and he did what he could to help the man.
Mr. Lacaire also works as a carpenter and the last two days have been a blur.
“It’s all I’ve been thinking about,” he said.
Bill Fortier of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.