Malden officer springs into action to save teen after collapse
By Arielle Mitropoulos, Imani Clement
Click here for updates on this story
MALDEN, Massachusetts (WCVB) — A Malden police officer is being revered as a hero after he helped revive a teenager who collapsed on a football field on April 21.
While in attendance at his daughter’s track meet between Archbishop Williams High School and St Mary’s, a 15-year-old collapsed and became unconscious.
Officer George Lopez went from father to on-duty officer within seconds.
Beside him was athletic trainer Winnie Victor, who works for Mass General Brigham.
Lopez and Victor started compressions and shocked the young man with a defibrillator.
“And the second, she said, ‘He’s not breathing. He’s not. He has no pulse.’ You go right into your training,” Lopez said. “When I went to check for a pulse and couldn’t find one, I knew I needed to act immediately. If you didn’t have that device, it could have gone a lot differently.”
Thanks to their quick thinking, the teenager is OK and is out of the hospital. Lopez said he hopes the two can reunite soon.
“It hits close to home because he’s a 15-year-old boy. My daughter’s a 15-year-old girl, and I want as much to save him as I do, if it were her,” Lopez said.
In recognition of his actions, Lopez was formally recognized and awarded a day off by the Malden Police Department.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.