He was in the right place at the right time.
Trooper Jason Ward, Indiana State Police
That’s what Indiana State Police Trooper Jason Ward said after saving a Columbia City man’s life on U.S. 30 early Tuesday morning.
Ward said he was doing his normal patrols when he heard what turned out to be the Arcola volunteer fire department’s alarm about an emergency. When he called for information, he found out it was something serious and was dispatched to the site.
“I got there, and I was the first emergency vehicle there,” he recalled Tuesday afternoon. “A man was laid out in the back of a van. … He was not moving and his breathing was shallow.”
Ward went right to work. With two Arcola volunteer firefighters by his side, he retrieved his automated external defibrillator (AED) from his squad car. One shock and Zachary P. Mosley, a 20-year-old from Columbia City with a history of heart problems, sat straight up, doubled over and lay back down.
“He started talking to us, mainly complaining about the pain he’d just received,” Ward said about the incident, which occurred at 12:17 a.m.
Ward was modest when talking to The News-Sentinel, making it seem as if this was just part of his job. Mosley is alive – though in serious condition at Lutheran Hospital – because of his efforts.
“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right piece of equipment,” said Ward, a seven-year trooper.
Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Ron Galaviz said all troopers receive training, including how to use the AED. He said it is a part of the first aid training, but it proved to be helpful for Ward – and Mosley.
“It couldn’t have panned out any better,” Galaviz said.
