Oakland County deputy saves man found overdosing in moving vehicle

Amber Ainsworth

Published March 5

Oakland County

FOX 2 Detroit

Watch the full video of the rescue Here:

https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/watch-oakland-cou...

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - An Oakland County sheriff’s deputy saved a man overdosing on heroin in a moving vehicle Thursday near Auburn Hills.

Deputy Craig Stout, a 34-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, got a call at about 11:20 a.m. about a pickup truck moving slowly in the area of Dutton and Interpark Drive on the border of Auburn Hills and Orion Township. A driver followed the truck while another driver was able to get the truck to stop.

When Sout arrived, he discovered that the diver and passenger were unconscious. The driver was breathing, but the passenger was not and was turning blue, authorities said.

Stout began performing a rescue that was caught on camera.

He administered Narcan to the passenger and began CPR. As Stout worked to revive the man, Orion Township Fire Department paramedics and Auburn Hills police arrived to help.

The passenger, a 35-year-old man from Quincy, Ky., began breathing on his own. He eventually regained consciousness and asked to stand up. The man admitted to using heroin. Prescription narcotics were also found in the truck, authorities said.

Stout could be heard on camera talking to the man as he became conscious.

"I know you are cold right now and I know you’re purple," Stout told the passenger. "But you were dead a minute ago."

The passenger thanked Stout and the paramedics for reviving him.

"I appreciate you guys, seriously," he said.

The man and the driver, a 39-year-old Pontiac man, were both transported to McLaren Oakland Hospital for observation.

Sheriff Bouchard commends everyone from his deputy who has 34 years with the office, the EMTs, and the good Samaritans.

"They took the initiative and the one person got out of their car and ran up to the slowly moving car and was able to drive it up into park - kind of dangerous but heroic," said Mike Bouchard, Oakland County Sheriff. "Had a foot ended up resting on the gas, they could have crossed the center line and we could have her a head-on accident. Everything aligned to save two lives and no one else got hurt. It was pretty amazing.

"The opioid epidemic continues to be a serious problem that affects countless lives, devastates families, and impacts communities everywhere. But for the training and quick thinking of Deputy Stout and the assistance of two alert motorists, the families of the men in that truck would be planning two funerals today."

Stout and the drivers who assisted will all be recommended for live-saving citations, Bouchard said.

"Our deputies go through extensive training for situations just like this," Bouchard said. "I applaud the two motorists who observed what was happening and called us, and the life-saving skills demonstrated by Deputy Stout. It was a good result from what would have been a tragedy."

Officials said sheriffs have used Narcan to save people more than 300 times since 2015.

Original Article Link:

WATCH: Oakland County deputy saves man found overdosing in moving vehicle (fox2detroit.com)