An elderly man’s life was saved this week by an off-duty police officer in Kelowna, B.C..
RCMP say Const. Scott Anderson was driving along the 1500 block of Gordon Drive on Tuesday afternoon when something caught his eye.
At a stop light, a red Honda Civic, driven by an elderly male, didn’t advance forward when the light turned green.
“Const. Anderson drove through the intersection and decided to circle around to see if the car had eventually moved, but it had not,” Kelowna RCMP said in a press release on Thursday afternoon.
“He stopped and saw the driver, who appeared to be unconscious, was slumped over the steering wheel.”
Anderson called 911, then tried to wake the driver up by knocking on the car’s windows. The driver didn’t wake, with Anderson then breaking the rear passenger window with his elbow and putting the car in park.
“He checked the driver for a pulse, but none was detected,” said Kelowna RCMP.
“The responding fire department arrived on scene at the same time and immediately performed CPR.”
Police say the driver then began breathing on his own and was taken to hospital.
“It is no doubt the observations and actions of Constable Anderson saved the driver’s life,” said Kelowna RCMP.
“Scott is a kind, compassionate and professional police officer who takes pride in his work and the service he provides to the community,” said Staff Sgt. Duncan Dixon.