Grateful Massachusetts Man Donates AED to Police
The 85-year-old victim was saved by the quick actions of a Quincy police officer, and an AED.
Of the two things that saved Vernon Siegel's life - a Quincy police lieutenant and a defibrillator - only one could be duplicated.
So Siegel, 85, wrote a check for $1,795 and gave it to Quincy police, hoping a new defibrillator might save someone else's life, too.
Siegel suffered a heart attack Nov. 14 while driving with his wife, Leila, on Quincy Avenue, near Southern Artery.
Lt. Charles Santoro, who was driving a few cars behind, said he watched as Siegel's car veered off the road and crashed through a fence. Santoro quickly pulled Siegel from the car with the help of a bystander, William Mulloy.
Siegel was unconscious, his head bloodied, and he had no pulse, Santoro said, "I could tell he was dead."
While a fearful Leila Siegel stood by, Santoro began cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
"All of a sudden I got his pulse back," said Santoro, who had attended a CPR training course the day before.
But Siegel's breathing and pulse quickly faded again.
A Quincy firefighter and police officers Michael Sullivan and John Leuchte arrived with a portable defibrillator. The officers ripped Siegel's shirt off while Santoro continued CPR, and gave Siegel two jolts from the defibrillator.
His heartbeat restored, paramedics took Siegel to Quincy Medical Center. Days later he underwent triple bypass surgery and is now recovering at home.
With Siegel's donation, the police department will buy its sixth defibrillator, each of which are stored in police cruisers.
"If they didn't have a defibrillator, I don't know what would have happened," said Leila Siegel, who moved with her husband to Quincy two years ago from New York. "We thought another one might help bring somebody else back to life."
