A trooper working a traffic detail in Jersey City Friday morning is the reason an overdosed man is alive today.
According to police, Trooper Thomas Burrell was working a rather uneventful traffic detail on Tonnelle Circle interchange in Jersey City early Friday morning on August 26.
At 3:53 a.m., the relative calm of the night was shattered when Tpr. Burrell was approached by two people who were screaming about a man dying under the bridge of the Route 1-9 overpass.
Tpr. Burrell immediately grabbed his medical bag, notified dispatch, and ran to the man's location.
When he arrived, the 20-year-old victim was barely breathing before he eventually stopped.
Based on information provided by witnesses and his own observations, Tpr. Burrell suspected that the man was overdosing as a result of taking heroin. As a result, he quickly administered one dose of Naloxone, which troopers carry while on patrol. Within a minute, the victim began breathing again.
The 20-year-old Jersey City man was treated on scene by Jersey City EMS and FD personnel, and he was transported Jersey City Medical Center where he is expected to recover.
First responders credited Tpr. Burrell's quick and decisive actions for saving the man's life!