First responders, bystanders save man not breathing after crashing into ditch near Tracy
TRACY – First responders saved a man's life who stopped breathing after a vehicle he was in crashed into a drainage ditch near Tracy on Sunday, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies and the California Highway Patrol responded to Paradise Avenue and Lucerne Avenue around 11 a.m. after a driver lost control and crashed a vehicle into a drainage ditch full of water.
The first deputy who arrived at the scene found other people in the water trying to help two adults trapped in the vehicle.
The driver of the vehicle was eventually able to free themself. Deputy Bergren with the sheriff's office and one of the good Samaritans worked to free the other person, who was unresponsive in the submerged vehicle and not breathing, the CHP said.
Deputy Bergren and the citizens lifted the man up the sides of the ditch, where a CHP motorcycle officer began performing CPR.
"Through the combined efforts of Deputy Bergren and Officer Sandoval performing CPR, the victim began labor breathing and eventually started breathing on his own again," the sheriff's office said.
Both people involved in the crash were taken to an area hospital and are expected to make full recoveries, the CHP said.
