Lifeguards save man's life after beach collapse at Jersey shore

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (WPVI) -- A day at the beach took an unexpected turn for a man in Atlantic City last weekend, but quick-thinking lifeguards are being credited with saving his life.

Lifeguards say the rescue was a textbook example of training in action.

"It was just about waist-deep water out here. A gentleman on a boogie board collapsed in the water, and his wife was with him. She began screaming for help," said Kevin Wallace, lead guard with the Atlantic City Beach Patrol.

The incident happened around 12:30 p.m. Saturday at New Hampshire Avenue Beach.

"He said he was short of breath and had a recent heart issue tied to low blood pressure, which we suspected was behind what was happening," Wallace said.

By the time lifeguards reached him, the man could no longer stand. They pulled him onto the sand, where his heart stopped beating.

"It seemed like a heart attack from everything I've been trained to understand," Wallace said.

"I grabbed the AED, hooked it up right away, and it called for a shock. We shocked him, went right back into CPR. A couple compressions in, I looked down and saw him regaining consciousness. He started talking. We were beyond relieved," said Lt. Kyle Deroo of the Atlantic City Beach Patrol.

Beach Patrol Chief Steve Downey said the man was in the best possible hands.

"You got lucky; those were two of our best guys. They're the trainers who teach everyone else on the beach how to do CPR," Downey said.

The man, in his mid-50s, later emailed the crew to thank them.

"That was the first time I'd ever gotten a thank-you email like that. It was nice to know he's part of the EMS system too, and that we could be there for him," Deroo said.

Lifeguards said the man did exactly the right thing, or in this case, his wife did -- by calling for help right away. It's a reminder to always swim close to lifeguards, in case the unexpected happens.