SEPTA officers and Good Samaritan save man having heart attack

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) Several SEPTA officers and a Good Samaritan are being hailed heroes after jumping into action and saving the life of a man having a heart attack.

22-year-old Daniel Cordero's girlfriend just missed his moment in the spotlight. It's not every day your significant other joins police to save a life.

"It's phenomenal. I'm glad he's all right. It's what you hope for. Do what you can and hope for the best," Cordero told FOX 29.

It was 4:30 Thursday afternoon when the 911 call came in from 30th Street station. A middle-aged man was down- unresponsive- on a Market Frankford train car- the victim of an apparent heart attack. Security camera footage shows transit police officer James Mayo who had rushed to the scene with his partner doing chest compressions. Outside the train Cordero had just arrived for his commute home.

"I saw the crowd and I thought, 'Oh great, SEPTA's late again.' But I soon realized that was not the case and that this was an emergency," Cordero explained.

The victim wasn't breathing- his pulse was faint- but Mayo kept up with the chest compressions and Cordero pulled from his backpack the pocket CPR mask he carries with him. He's a certified EMT. As he put it to use, Mayo's partner Justin Matthews took over the chest compressions and the victim started showing signs of life.

"Our training paid off. Sometimes you're in training and you say, 'Oh, it's training.' But muscle memory kicked in and everything clicked together well," Matthews said.

With fire rescue now on the scene, the victim was quickly wheeled to street level for the trip to Hahnemann Hospital where he was last reported in stable condition.