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Officers honored for life-saving efforts
By Kalea Hall
CANFIELD
While fairgoers were enjoying their time, a life was being saved Saturday morning at the Canfield Fair.
A jockey collapsed in front of two officers, and instantly those officers got to work.
Mark Edwards of the Columbiana Police Department and Mike Nulf of the Beaver Township Police Department received recognition from the Canfield Fair Board on Sunday for their life-saving efforts.
But the two give credit to the entire collaboration of EMTs, paramedics and firefighters.
“It was every bit of how it should work,” Edwards said. “Everybody did a great job together.”
It was about 8:30 to 9 a.m. Saturday when the jockey dropped to the ground right outside of the blacksmith building on Ellsworth Drive.
“They came over and assessed the situation, and they saw he was already blue,” said Billy Arnaut, chief of Canfield Fair Police.
They could tell he had no pulse, immediately called in for emergency services and then started CPR. When emergency personnel arrived within a minute, the work to revive the man continued.
A defibrillator was used to shock the man’s heart. He flatlined three times. He had to be shocked three times before he came back to life.
“The good part is he survived and his horse won the race,” Arnaut said.
The jockey’s name was not released. The middle-aged man is from southern Ohio. He was transported to St. Elizabeth Health Center by Lane LifeTrans after suffering from an apparent heart attack. He was said to be “alert,” Arnaut said.
This is the 18th fair Edwards has worked as a police officer and the 14th for Nulf.
“I think the main reason he survived was because everyone worked together,” Edwards said.
Members of the Cardinal Joint Fire District, Austintown Fire Department, Green Township Fire Department and Beaver Township Fire Department all helped in the efforts to save the man.