By EMS1 Staff
HENRIETTA, N.Y. — Although William Schmidt is a retired firefighter-EMT, he is still saving lives.
Schmidt was in his living room when he heard honking and a loud crash outside his home, reported 13WHAM. Officials said a driver had crossed the centerline and hit another vehicle.
“There was a car across the street, car in front of my tree and a car in my driveway,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt, also a Navy veteran, went to each car to check on the victims inside. The driver, identified as 30-year-old David Rivers, who caused the crash stumbled out of his vehicle and collapsed on a neighbor’s front yard.
“He had no pulse,” Schmidt said. “He had turned blue because he wasn’t breathing. Then [I] went into the mode, the EMT mode that I was for a long time,” Schmidt said.
Two doctors who were driving by the scene stopped to help. Schmidt and the doctors performed CPR on Rivers, and managed to get him breathing before responders arrived.
Paramedics also administered Narcan on Rivers.
“The best thing you can feel is like, ‘Wow, I did something to make a difference in somebody’s life,’” Schmidt said.
Officials said Rivers was charged with DWI and received multiple traffic citations.