Student nurse saves man after he stops breathing at the wheel of a car: ‘Life-saving actions’

A student nurse jumped into action and reportedly saved a man’s life after he stopped breathing while he was driving a car. 

Demi Murphy is a three-year student nurse at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in Liverpool, England.

She was driving back to work after lunch when she noticed a man’s car was in the middle of the road. 

She ran to the car and noticed that the man, identified as John McKeown, wasn’t breathing and was unresponsive, she told the BBC. 

“I didn’t have time to think about it. I just jumped in the car and started doing CPR while he was in the driver’s seat,” she recalled.

Her friend, who had been on the phone with her, called an ambulance, she said.

At the same time, McKeown’s partner, Vicky Flattery, called the driver’s phone and Murphy answered. 

This was when she learned that McKeown’s dad had a genetic heart condition, as the BBC reported.

“Thankfully, the ambulance arrived quite quickly, and they got him out of the car and I continued CPR when John was on the floor, while the paramedics got the defibrillator,” she said.

After gaining a pulse, McKeown was put in the ambulance and taken to the hospital.

The 37-year-old later discovered that he had suffered a ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest. He was put on life support in intensive care, according to the BBC. 

McKeown suffered a seizure and was placed in an induced coma as well. 

Since the Nov. 11 incident, McKeown has had surgery to fit an implantable cardiac defibrillator to stop his irregular heartbeats. He was able to spend Christmas with Flattery and his three children. 

Flattery told the BBC that although McKeown doesn’t have tons of memories of the incident or of a few days before the incident, they are grateful he’s OK.

“We’re just really thankful that Demi was in the right place at the right time and all the other paramedics and hospital teams worked to save John, so he could come home to his children and his family,” she said. 

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust chief nursing officer David Melia told the BBC that Murphy should be “incredibly proud of herself.”

“Her quick thinking and life-saving actions mean John is here to enjoy Christmas with his family this year,” he said.

Melia added that he has “no doubt that Demi has a long and successful career ahead of her.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the hospital for further comment.