UPDATE: MLGW said the driver saved by their crews suffered a heart attack and said Shad Old and David Hinchey performed CPR on the man for 17 minutes. The MLGW linemen are hoping to meet the driver once he recovers.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland is praising the efforts of several Memphis Light Gas and Water linemen who helped save the life of a driver who crashed into the utility pole they were getting ready to work on.
In his Weekly Update, Mayor Strickland said two crews were recently installing electric distribution at Lawrence and Hacks Cross when an 18-wheeler flatbed truck began moving slowly toward their work area.
The MLGW workers jumped out of the way, he said, as the truck plowed into the utility pole.
It’s unclear if the driver suffered a medical emergency, but the mayor said when the linemen got him out of his truck, he was unconscious and had no pulse.
Strickland said lineman Shad Old immediately began administering CPR while Crew Leader David Hinchey called 911. He said the other crew members assisted with traffic until paramedics arrived, and the man was breathing again when he left in an ambulance.
In a prepared statement, MLGW President Doug McGowen said:
“We are proud of the work our crews do every day, but especially thankful today for their quick actions to help someone in need.”
The mayor also thanked the crews for what they did. He said paramedics on the scene told the crews that the man would have died without their efforts and quick response.
