Missoula Area News

Officer's quick thinking saves Missoula Marathon runner's life

Posted: Jul 9, 2012 3:57 PM by Irina Cates - MTN News

MISSOULA - Missoula Police Officer Ben Freudenberg just had a CPR refresher course a few weeks ago, and on Sunday morning that training was put to the test when a Missoula Marathon runner collapsed during the race.

The call to 911 came in just before 9 a.m. on Sunday, and that's when Freudenberg responded to the intersection of Hilda and Daly Avenue for a man who fell down, was unconscious and not breathing.

Citizens had already started CPR on the 66-year-old, but they stopped. When Freudenberg arrived, he started CPR again, the victim started breathing and was taken to the hospital.

"Those are the kinds of experiences that you shoot for in a careers like this. You always want to be able to help someone and it's a great feeling to be able to participate in helping save somebody's life. I mean obviously the people that were already on scene, that initiated CPR at first, I mean kudos to them for all that they did as well," says Officer Ben Freudenberg, Missoula Police Department.

Freudenberg says this is his first time doing CPR. Police don't know why the man collapsed, but he's now sitting up in his hospital bed and talking.