By Ryan Dunn
The Blade
TOLEDO, Ohio — The calm, assuring voice relayed critical medical instruction over the phone to a good Samaritan not long after Mayor D. Michael Collins crashed his vehicle Sunday.
But equanimity during these emergency calls, said Lucas County EMS dispatcher Brian Dempsey, is merely part of the position.
“This kind of thing happens daily. To me, this is just another facet of my job,” Mr. Dempsey said.
AUDIO: 911 call of Mayor Collins’ crash, time: 6:39
Toledo police released audio Tuesday of the nearly seven-minute call from Evelyn Johnson, one of two people who helped the mayor. They were unaware until later that the victim was Mr. Collins.
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Mr. Dempsey, 38, of Northwood asked Mrs. Johnson and a man later identified as Andra Crisp to smash the vehicle’s window, reach Mr. Collins, and place him flat in the snow. Emergency vehicles are heard in the background about three minutes later.
Mrs. Johnson yelled “sir” multiple times for Mr. Collins to respond before performing chest compressions, as the dispatcher directed. Mr. Dempsey instructed her to push at least 2 inches deep and at a rate of twice per second.
“Keep counting so I can hear you,” Mr. Dempsey said over the phone.
“One, two, three, four ...” Mrs. Johnson replied.
“OK, you’ve got to go faster than that,” Mr. Dempsey said.
Mrs. Johnson complied, and the paramedics took control shortly thereafter.
Mr. Collins had cardiac arrest and struck a pole with a city-owned vehicle at the intersection of Parkside Boulevard and Hill Avenue. The incident occurred at about 1:48 p.m. Sunday. He remains in critical condition in the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio.
Dispatchers typically follow an outline so as to efficiently explain basic medical care for those unfamiliar, Mr. Dempsey said.
“All this is pretty much dictated by the cards we use,” he said.
The victim’s stature is irrelevant during the initial call. The job focuses on keeping all residents safe, he said.
Mr. Dempsey, who also serves as a Northwood firefighter and has been a dispatcher for 13 years, said Sunday’s incident was unique in that dispatchers often don’t get any follow-up information after handling calls, he said.
He praised Mrs. Johnson and Mr. Crisp for their calmness under pressure. CPR has changed over the years and chest compressions are to be done more quickly than they used to be done, Mr. Dempsey said.
“If you stay to the beat of ‘Stayin Alive,’ that’s the proper rate of CPR,” Mr. Dempsey said.
Mrs. Johnson, 42, of South Toledo, praised the dispatcher in an interview as “my blessing” and “my angel.”
She said she looks forward to soon meeting him and expressing her gratitude.
“I don’t think it would have gone as smoothly if not for the 911 dispatcher,” Mrs. Johnson said.
The ProMedica CPR Rescue Training Center has invited the good Samaritans to visit its CPR training and certification classes, ProMedica spokesman Jen Sorgenfrei said.
Mrs. Johnson plans to attend a 1 p.m Feb. 10 session and Mr. Crisp intends to attend the 6 p.m. March 5 meeting. Both meetings are at ProMedica Flower Hospital.
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©2015 The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)