WILLIAMSBURG – The quick-thinking actions of two correctional officers helped to revive a woman at the scene of a Wednesday night car crash.
According to the Hampden County Sheriff’s office, two correctional officers with the department, Ryan Kennedy and Nicholas Husovsky, were returning from dropping off an inmate in Berkshire County when they came across a car crashed into a tree in Williamsburg on Route 9 at around 9:30 p.m.
The officers pulled over to investigate, according to the sheriff’s office, and saw a woman slouched over and unresponsive with a purplish tone to her skin. The officers subsequently broke a window and retrieved the woman and began doing rescue breathing and chest compressions when they discovered she had no pulse.
Williamsburg Fire Chief Jason Connell was alerted to the crash, and he said that he was on the scene four to five minutes after hearing from dispatchers.
“It wasn’t far from my house,” Connell said.
Connell was the third person on the scene and he administered a shock to the woman with a defibrillator. Subsequently, the woman got a pulse back.
Highland Ambulance, more firefighters and Massacusetts State Police joined the chief and the officers on the scene, and the woman was transported to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
Connell praised the conduct of the two correctional officers.
“They recognized very quickly that there was a major issue,” he said.
Additionally, he praised the quality of the CPR that the officers performed.
“We are thankful that our officers were in the right place at the right time and able to help bring this woman back,” Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi said in a statement. “These unpredictable incidents are exactly why it’s so important that all first responders be trained in a variety of life-saving measures. You never know when you’ll come upon someone who needs help.”
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.