Nassau County Honors Police Medic Who Saved Wantagh Man

MINEOLA, NY — A Nassau County police medic was honored Wednesday for saving the life of a Wantagh man as part of National EMS Week.

David Reed, who works for the Emergency Ambulance Bureau, was on a call on June 14, 2020, when homeowner Walter Obrisky was found lying in his driveway in full cardiac arrest.

Reed immediately went into crisis mode, instructing police officers to apply the automatic CPR machine, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said in a news conference. At that point, the medic was monitoring the man for defibrillation.

Reed also intubated the patient, gave him three shocks and necessary cardiac medicine, Curran said. Once placed in a police ambulance, Obrisky started breathing on his own and his pulse returned.

"That would not have happened were it not for Dave Reed," Curran said.

Doctors at Winthrop Hospital, where Obrisky was taken, also praised the medic, saying he was instrumental in saving the man's life, according to Curran.

But, the most important compliment came from Obrisky himself, moments after he embraced the heroic medic, a gesture he recognized would have been impossible without Reed.

"I would not have been here today," Obrisky said.