Saving a Life Becomes Group Effort

On Saturday, March 10, 2018, at 12:11 pm., Officers responded to the report of a person down on the I-575 northbound off-ramp to Hickory Flat Highway (Exit # 16).  Three (3) units quickly arrived and found thirty-eight (38) year old male Mr. Austin Alan Gelder to have no pulse and not breathing.  On scene, the caller, Ms. Sherri Blalock-Whitten, advised Officers she was giving the individual a ride to the hospital because he was feeling very ill.  In addition, another passerby had stopped and was administering Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to the person down as Officers arrived.

Cpl. Jose Souto, Officer Kyle Harahus, and Officer Daniel Mendoza immediately began rendering aid to the lifeless male by taking over CPR, administering breaths from a manual respirator and utilized an assigned Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

The dedicated Officers worked as a team for several minutes as they coordinated chest compressions along with the use of the respirator and administered three (3) shocks to the patient’s heart from the AED before Cherokee Fire Medics arrived on scene.  Upon Medics arrival, they continued to work on Mr. Gelder and transported him to Northside – Cherokee Hospital as Officers cleared traffic for the ambulance.  Responding Officers later learned that Mr. Gelder was in recovery and in stable condition at the hospital due to their immediate life-saving efforts, quick response of the caller to 911 and the passerby who stopped to administer CPR.   
 
Chief of Police Mark J. Mitchell said, “Our Officers and these kind Samaritans were extremely calm, caring and worked as a team, which directly resulted in saving a human life.  We are extremely grateful that Mr. Gelder is on his way to recovery.  As proven before, the diligent mindset, attitude and heart set of our Officers, partnership with our citizens and the addition of the AED devices to our fleet strengthens our abilities to protect, serve and improve the quality of life for our community.”
The agency is coordinating the attendance of both Good Samaritans and Mr. Gelder or members of his family to the City Council Meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 5, 2018.  Chief Mitchell will present the department’s Life-Saving Award to the involved Officers and Good Samaritans at that time. 

Can you identify this good Samaritan?

The department is currently working to obtain the name of the Good Samaritan who stopped and conducted CPR because she quickly left the scene before Officers obtained her information.  Please see the attached photo of the unknown passerby. We ask if anyone has any information pertaining to this individual to contact us via our social media pages or call the Police Department at 770-720-7883.  Furthermore, please let her know that she can also contact us via our social media pages or call the main number listed above.