LACEY: On the evening of Thursday, July 13th, Recruit Zachary Hopkins took his younger brother & sister to a McDonald’s restaurant in Lacey Township. Upon arriving, he was informed by the driver ahead of him to utilize the secondary drive-thru lane due a stationary car in the main lane. The vehicle in question was positioned against the curb with its brake lights on. After a few moments, it began to move erratically between the right and left sides of the lane. Concerned for the occupant’s well-being, Recruit Hopkins decided to exit his vehicle and investigate further.

Recruit Hopkins approached the stationary car on the passenger side, upon closer inspection, he noticed the woman inside had a pale complexion, blue lips, making gurgling noises and appeared unresponsive. After she did not respond to any of his attempts to communicate with her, he realized the seriousness of the situation and asked his sister to call 9-1-1 for emergency assistance. Recruit Hopkins then checked to see if the driver side door was open and had reached over to put the car in park and removed the keys from the ignition to ensure the vehicle was off and also removed the seat belt from the driver as she was struggling to breathe.

Recruit Hopkins was trying to keep her conscious although she remained unresponsive and showed signs of physical stiffness, with her hands tightly clenched to the steering wheel, her mouth open and her eyes rolling back. He checked her pulse and found it to be very weak. He attempted a sternum rub, but she did not react. A crowd had began to gather around and Recruit Hopkins requested if anyone present had Narcan available on them as he suspected the driver was experiencing an overdose. Some bystanders asked passing cars if they had Narcan; fortunately, one vehicle had two doses.

He administered the first dose, but it did not have the desired effect. Recruit Hopkins waited 3 minutes, still without any response from the driver when he administered a second dose. Approximately 2 minutes later, her feet and tongue began to move, although she remained unresponsive to any external stimuli. After a few more minutes, he applied another sternum rub, which caused her to wake up disoriented. Shortly after, EMTs arrived at the scene and Recruit Hopkins briefed them on the events that had transpired; they expressed their appreciation for his assistance and he left them with his contact information.

We applaud the quick response Recruit Hopkins exhibited in this situation.