Two heroic women and two police officers will receive national recognition after they rushed to save the life of a man who had collapsed at the wheel of his car.
Josie Finch and Michelle Kirwan, from Alexandra Road in Ipswich, and Pc Stephen Duffell and Pc George Laflin who are based in Stowmarket, all performed CPR on the casualty who had stopped at the side of the A140 on August 22 last year.
The quartet will now receive an award from the Royal Humane Society.
Miss Finch and Miss Kirwan were driving along the road towards the A14 when they were flagged down by another motorist.
“We’d been away for a couple of nights for a break and were driving back down the A140,” Miss Kirwan said.
“We went to the car, took one look (at the man) and I said, ‘Josie we need him out of here now’.
“This was in the middle of the road, in the fast lane of the dual carriageway. I wasn’t thinking, I just went into action mode because I could see him dying in front of us.
“We were doing CPR for what felt like a lifetime before the police arrived.”
Miss Finch added: “It was really bizarre because we’d just finished a lovely two days away and we were just going to a pub for lunch and then this all happened.
“When the ambulance crews came they said to us we did a really good job because his oxygen levels were up.”
The pair also said they would have no hesitation in doing the same thing again.
“There’s no way I could just walk away from that,” said Miss Kirwan.
“It was automatic in a way,” added Miss Finch. “We were probably running on adrenaline as well.”
Pc Laflin was only in his second week as a constable when he and Pc Duffell were called to the scene.
“I was still very young in service at this particular point as the incident happened on my ninth shift on patrol,” he said. “Fortunately I was in good experienced hands as I was with my tutor Pc Duffell.
“(The casualty) was unconscious, grey in colour and had no pulse whatsoever and natural instinct kicked in to start CPR.”
Pc Duffell added: “I’ve had to do it (CPR) half a dozen times but it’s the first time it’s worked. It’s a very personal experience.
“The doctors from the air ambulance came over and said we had saved his life.”
The four have also been recognised for their actions by Suffolk police earlier this year.
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