Bucks County mail carrier delivers life-saving CPR to car crash victim

BENSALEM, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- While she was on her route in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USPS carrier Sarah Van de Laar witnessed a car crash and didn't hesitate to help, delivering life-saving CPR to one of the victims.

Her Wednesday route started like every other day, until she got to the Knightsbridge Apartments on Knights Road in Bensalem.

"I glanced over and I just saw this little red sedan, just like it looked like he cut the curb too fast," she said. "I saw dirt pop up, and then I looked over again and then he was in the middle of a person's yard."

Van de Laar immediately stopped her mail route and jumped into action.

"I got out of my vehicle and I said, 'Excuse me, sir...are you OK at this time?'" she recalled. "He was a little disoriented."

As she called 911, a scary moment happened.

"Just the scariest thing. He just slumped in his driver's seat," she said.

She, along with another passerby, pulled the driver from behind the wheel. Van de Laar began chest compressions.

"And at the time, I didn't realize that he was fighting for his life," she said.

The driver was rushed to a nearby hospital. Van de Laar said she continued her mail route, but could only think about the man whose life was hanging in the balance.

It wasn't until a month later that she learned that he had survived because of her quick-thinking actions.

Then, she got the opportunity to see him again, face to face.

"It was awesome. It was almost like a gift," she said.

The victim didn't want to talk, but told Action News that he's grateful that Van de Laar was in the right place at the right time.

The six-year veteran mail carrier received an award for heroism from the United States Postal Service.

"I don't consider myself a hero, but I also just consider myself a human being. I just come into my job every day, go home, see my family," she says.

Knights Road is a very busy intersection in Bensalem. She says that day, she was one of three people who stopped to help.

Everyone else drove by, and she's grateful for the people who helped her do CPR and stop traffic for EMS.