A dramatic rescue in early June turned into a life-saving mission for two young Nova Scotia men.
Jessee Lowe and his friend Nathan Sampson were driving home from Queensland Beach the night of June 4 when the driver behind them careened off the road and into the nearby water.
The two 19-year-olds turned around and ran down the embankment to find a woman trapped in the sinking vehicle.
“She was unconscious. She was actually lifeless,” Lowe says. “Her face was blue, her lips were purple. It was like looking at a dead body. It was frightening.”
Despite the heavy mud, the pair managed to get the door open and pull the woman out by the leg.
Lowe says Samson’s life-saving training kicked into gear.
“He knew CPR, luckily, so he started giving her compressions,” says Lowe. “He said, ‘Give her breaths,’ so I gave her breaths and after doing that probably seven or eight times, she made her first little hiccup.”
Rescue crews arrived within 15 minutes after having a hard time navigating the steep path.
“It would have been dark at that time,” says Cpl. Dal Hutchinson, spokesperson for Nova Scotia RCMP. “Any collisions we respond to, you don't know what the environment is going to present you with when you arrive on scene.”
Police credit the duo’s quick actions with helping save the woman's life.
“These two young men did something that I hope most people would do,” Cpl. Hutchinson says. “They helped save someone’s life that night.”
Lowe credits adrenaline and his friend for helping with the rescue. He says they knew they had to do something.
“I don't know what I would have done or could have done with myself if we didn't get her out in time,” says Lowe.
RCMP are not releasing the woman's name, but CTV News has learned she spent a week in hospital before being released.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Emily Baron Cadloff.
