Over Memorial Day weekend, after a long few days of moving his family into their new home, Distribution Supervisor Ray Hammond, of Projects & Construction’s Inside Plant Maintenance and Construction team, went out to pick up dinner for himself and his wife, Kim. While parked outside a diner near his new home, he was suddenly approached by a distraught young woman who told him that the young man she was with was unconscious – the victim of an apparent overdose.
Hammond assisted the woman in calling 911 and then moved quickly to help the unconscious man. “I could immediately see that he was not breathing on his own,” he explained later. “The 911 dispatcher asked if either of us knew CPR. PSE&G trains us every year in CPR, so I began to deliver chest compressions, but got no response. I began to perform rescue breathing on the man, and he soon regained a pulse and started to show signs of life.”
Hammond continued chest compressions until police and EMTs arrived and gave the man a drug that revives overdose victims. The man regained full consciousness, and the EMTs then took him to receive the medical treatment and help he needed.
Commenting on the incident, Hammond summed up this feelings about his life saving efforts. “The entire night was surreal and I hope I never see anyone in that situation again,” he said. “I’m glad I could help, and that police and EMS are trained to handle situations like that so expertly. CPR is real! We train for a reason, because it can save someone’s life.” Hammond should know.
(Featured photo: Ray Hammond and his wife, Kim, with their son Raymond)
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