Two Ocala police officers are among those being credited with saving a man’s life on the shoulder of Interstate 75 on Tuesday.
Officer Joshua Warner and Trainee Officer Shelby O’Grady responded to a call for help on the southbound shoulder of the interstate and were forced to take the quickest route – north on the southbound ramps. With lights and sirens blaring, they made their way to the scene, where bystanders already were performing CPR on a motorist who was lying on the ground. The two officers also provided CPR and used their AED on the man.
“I couldn’t have saved him without the help of my trainee and had it not been for the bystanders who started CPR before we arrived, I don’t think what we did would have mattered,” Warner said. “This was a team effort.”
Ocala Fire Rescue arrived quickly, continued CPR and transported the man to a local hospital. As of Wednesday afternoon, he was out of surgery and his family was in Ocala by his side.
The man’s son-in-law asked that the Ocala Police Department share this message: “On behalf of our entire family, we are so thankful for the intervention of everyone involved on the side of I-75 that day. We send a heartfelt thank you. Without their help, our loved one wouldn’t be here today.”
Body camera video from the officers can be viewed on the Ocala Police Department’s Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/OcalaPoliceDepartment/videos/654330455017199/