Four strangers saw an unresponsive man lying unconscious on the street — their astute response saved his life

A woman heard some people yelling for help and intervened quickly, saving the man's life by minutes.

PUBLISHED 1 DAY AGO

(L) Tina Ballue performs CPR on unconscious stranger on street. (R) Strangers helping unconscious man on street. (Cover Image Source: YouTube | KSBY News)

One would never imagine that they would be the reason someone is alive, but sometimes, all it takes is timely action and intervention. A woman named Tina Ballue and three other strangers got together to save a man’s life unexpectedly, per KSBY News. Ballue spotted someone asking for help for a man lying unconscious on the street and rushed to investigate. When she learned about the situation, she intervened and, with the help of others, made a difference. Their effort proved life-saving for the man and is being commended.

Woman walking on busy street. (Representative Image Source: Unsplash| Photo by Oxana Melis)

Ballue was on the streets of Calle Real in Santa Barbara when she heard people yelling for help for an unconscious man. "They said, 'He says he needs CPR, can you give CPR?' And I said yes. I didn't even think about it,” she recalled. Ballue quickly got to work and with whatever she knew about CPR, she tried to help. “I just ran over and immediately put my hands on his chest, checked for breathing, checked the airway and started giving CPR. I could not say I felt ready, but I knew I had to do something," she said. Only four in ten people know the necessary skills to help a person in urgent need, according to St. John Ambulance. Only 43% of people know how to give CPR effectively to save a life.

Strangers huddled together, talkingh seriously on side of street. (Representative Image Source: Pexels| Pghoto by Keira Burton)

Carl Makins, the head of community education at St John Ambulance, noted, “It’s vital more of us within our communities know how to respond to the life-threatening situations which many of us will sadly face in our lives.” Skills like these are crucial while saving one’s life, as well as that of loved ones or even strangers. Ballue mentioned that after two rounds of CPR, the man started breathing again. Justin Haagen, CPR trainer with Safety Matters, credited the four strangers, including Ballue, for stepping in and helping in due time.

Medics assisting patient with oxygen and first aid. (Representative Image Source: Pexels| Photo by Mikhail Nilov)

"She did the right thing, first of all, she stopped, which is a big deal. The longer a person is unresponsive and not breathing, the longer that happens with nobody doing anything, the more unlikely it's going to become that they'll be resuscitated," Haagen said. The trainer added that the very act of giving CPR increases the person’s survival rate by 44%. Without CPR, the survival rate dropped to 10%, so the people made an impactful difference by intervening. "When someone is unresponsive and not breathing, minutes matter," Haagen added.

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Speaking about emergency and unprecedented situations, Haagen recommends calling 911 first. Next, CPR can prove beneficial. "It doesn't matter why they're unresponsive or not breathing. If they are unresponsive and not breathing, that's a good time to try some CPR," the trainer explained. For Ballue, it was just a good opportunity to exercise humanity. "The hardest part when you look back is that it easily could have gone the other way," she said. Another important lesson learned is to stop and help; such intervention can save a life. "If somebody stops, you are courageous enough. I did what I could and thankfully, that was enough on that day," Ballue said.