I would venture to say that most encounters with a state trooper on duty will make a person’s heart beat faster.
For one man last week, that was definitely a good thing.
The encounter took place on a routine day at the Vance County Highway Patrol and DMV driver’s license office in Henderson. Highway Patrol First Sergeant Joe Gaskins and patrol secretary Dana Aiken were in the patrol office when they heard a “loud commotion” coming from the lobby of the driver’s license office.
In seconds, Sgt. Gaskins was in motion.
In the lobby, he found a man slumped over in a lobby chair. When Gaskins examined him, he found the man was unresponsive and had no pulse. The trooper leaped into action, beginning CPR while 911 was being called.
Highway Patrol First Sergeant Joe Gaskins
Gaskins feverishly applied CPR for more than 10 minutes, the N.C. Department of Public Safety reported. Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived and found a pulse – weak, but there.
The man was taken to Maria Parham Hospital, and was doing well and expected to recover.
It’s no surprise that an N.C. State Trooper would be prepared for such an event. Troopers are highly trained, and the NC Highway Patrol Basic School for cadets with no prior law enforcement training is twenty-nine weeks long and is fully accredited by the NC criminal justice standards commission. About 40 percent of each cadet class washes out.
But CPR classes are available to everyone. A simple online search can help you find a class near you and get certified.
You never know when you might be the one called upon to save a life.
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