On Monday, March 11, bus driver, Karen Fedor and bus aide, Christine Vollmer were on their bus route. Just like they would any other day, they left Westmoreland Central School District around 1 p.m. to pick up students from Verona BOCES, Holy Cross and John D. George Elementary School.
They dropped off their last student at home and started making their way back to the bus garage, when Vollmer saw an elderly man on his back, in his driveway with mail scattered around his head. “Chrissy told me to stop, put the bus in reverse and back it up, so I did,” said Fedor.
Vollmer said she bolted from the bus. “I ran over, I assessed the guy and asked him if he was okay and he didn’t answer.” She said that’s when she knew he was unresponsive. She then ran back to the bus and told Fedor to call 911 while she performed CPR. She did this for a few minutes until first responders arrived at the home. “It seemed longer because it’s something you’re not used to doing,” said Vollmer. “Your body goes into overdrive and I don’t know how EMTs do it.” Meanwhile, Fedor was on the phone with dispatchers who were advising them on what to do.
Vollmer said the man had a pulse by the time the ambulance took him to the hospital. “All I kept thinking to myself while I was doing CPR was, oh my goodness this is someone’s dad.”
This isn’t Vollmer or Fedor’s first time in a situation like this. Vollmer was on vacation in Myrtle Beach when a woman sitting next to her in a pool chair collapsed. Fedor said she experienced this same incident years ago at the Clinton Arena when a man collapsed on the ice. Their point, this can happen anywhere to anyone.
Westmoreland Central School District provides training to their employees, which is something Vollmer said she’s thankful for especially after an incident like this. “I told Mr. Migliori that this wouldn’t have happened, honestly, without that training I had.” Fedor’s daughter is taking courses to become a CPR instructor. This coupled with the incident that happened on Monday has really opened her eyes to how dire this need is. “Learn CPR,” said Fedor. “It’s so important because you can save a life, you can give somebody a second chance.”
We are so lucky to have Karen and Christine!
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Christine Vollmer
Karen Fedor
