A longtime city employee is being praised as a hero for saving a stranger’s life after he found a 57-year-old man unresponsive and slumped over his steering wheel on Mason Avenue. Utilities worker Theodore “Ted” Wolfe didn’t expect to use his recent CPR training provided by the city so quickly, but his impeccable timing and Good Samaritan spirit kicked in when he saw the helpless man had already turned blue.
While other panicked motorists were shouting that the driver was dead, Ted quickly got out of his car and sprang into action. At the same time, Tammy Leggett, a registered nurse who works in Halifax Medical Center’s emergency room, drove up to the scene. Together they began to administer CPR – Ted started chest compressions while the Tammy worked on the man’s breathing. They were able to administer CPR and get the suspected overdose victim breathing again before Volusia County EVAC arrived and took over.
The man, later identified as Kevin McFeaters, was transported to Halifax Medical Center for further evaluation. He was placed into protective custody under the Marchman Act, a state statute created to compel a suspected substance abuser to seek treatment.
For his life-saving efforts, Ted was recognized by the American Heart Association as a HeartSaver Hero.
The city offered CPR training to about 100 employees last month as part of its proactive monthly safety training program. Using guidelines established by the American Safety and Health Institute, the city’s Safety Officer Kirk Bullock and Alpha Omega, a vendor specializing in safety instruction and OSHA compliance, provided the life-saving course work. Six, two-hour sessions of CPR instruction were offered over two days in the Midtown Community Center’s gym. After completing the course work, attendees were certified in the use of AED defibrillation equipment and administering CPR to adults, children and infants.