Good Lookin' Out, Dawg

Thanks to the help of an Ontario County Sheriff's deupty and a local firefighter, a Skaneateles man is alive today. Here's an excerpt from the story that ran in the Finger Lakes Times on Sunday...

A Skaneateles man who drove into the path of a garbage truck Friday morning owes his life to the quick thinking of an Ontario County sheriff's deputy and a White Springs Road Fire Department volunteer.

Deputy Scott Avedisian and firefighter Roy Kerfien, the first emergency personnel on scene, brought motorist James Van Nostrand back from the brink of death with a few cycles of CPR, said Lt. Bill Gallagher of the Ontario County Sheriff's Department.

“It would appear at this point that they brought him back,” Gallagher said. “It appears that he was in cardiac arrest at the scene, and he's alive now.”

Van Nostrand, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was unconscious, not breathing and had no pulse when Avedisian arrived on the scene. He and Kerfien soon began to administer CPR with the help of an automatic external defibrillator, which all deputies carry in their cars. After three cycles of chest compressions and artificial breathing, Van Nostrand began breathing on his own, Gallagher said.

He remained unconscious and was flown to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester by Mercy Flight. He was listed in guarded condition Saturday night.

Scott Avedisian and Roy Kerfien... Good Lookin' Out Dawgs.