First Responders Save Life at Charlotte High Soccer Game

Published: December 20, 2019

On December 12, 2019 Officer Chris Owensby, a School Resource Officer at Charlotte High School was working an extra-duty detail for a boys soccer game. Officer Terry Chow, a School Resource Officer at Punta Gorda Middle School, was attending the game off-duty. During the game the referee collapsed on the field. Both Officer Owensby and Officer Chow, along with a medical professional who had also been attending the game, called for the Fire Department and EMS to respond and rushed to the patient. While attending to the patient he stopped breathing and Officer Chow began administering CPR with assistance from the medical professional. An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was used and one shock was administered to the patient who began breathing, but remained unconscious. The Punta Gorda Fire Department and Charlotte County EMS responded and transported the patient to the hospital.

The patient remains in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery thanks to the quick actions of first responders.