UPDATE: Edwin DeRousie died Tuesday night of unexpected complications at Harrison Medical Center, his son, Mike DeRousie, assistant chief for Clallam Fire District No. 2, reported Wednesday morning.
Mike DeRousie said he is thankful for the extra time he and his family was able to share with his father.
“He was laughing and we were telling jokes and everything else,” DeRousie said of his father.
He said because of those who helped at the scene Monday he was able to laugh with his father one more time.
“We got to laugh with him the day after that happened,” he said. “That’s how we looked at it.”
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PORT ANGELES — Everyone was at the right place at the right time when Edwin ‘Norm’ DeRousie, 91, had a life-threatening heart attack while behind the wheel at a busy Port Angeles intersection Monday afternoon.
Thanks to other drivers immediately starting cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and a U.S. Border Patrol Agent who had an automated external defibrillator (AED) in his vehicle, DeRousie is now recovering at Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton and was expected to leave the Intensive Care Unit soon, said his son, Mike DeRousie.
“Our family is so proud of everyone who helped in Port Angeles,” said Mike DeRousie, who is also assistant chief for Clallam Fire District No. 2.
“To think people would get out of their cars on First Street and save somebody’s life, it’s pretty incredible.”
He said his father was driving on Ennis Street toward First Street and had a heart attack at the stoplight.
Terry Carpentier, who drives a tow truck, saw DeRousie’s head drop down as he drove through the intersection, almost causing a wreck.
Carpentier, whose wife called 9-1-1, said he jumped out to check on him and put DeRousie’s vehicle into park so it didn’t roll any more.
“It was scary,” he said. ” I just thought ‘I have to keep a calm head.’ ”
Carpentier said he didn’t know what to do, but knew he needed help.
He turned on the flashing lights on his tow truck and began directing traffic as Tom Bock, who works on the MV Coho ferry and is a volunteer firefighter for Clallam County Fire District No. 3, initiated CPR.
Others jumped in to help Bock perform CPR as Carpentier directed traffic.
“It totally amazed me how everyone in this town gets in and is helpful,” Carpentier said. “It made my heart good.”
Bock said it was a team effort to save DeRousie’s life and that he is thankful for all those who stopped to help.
“It’s important for me to emphasize everyone who stopped and helped,” he said. “You can’t do this as a one-man show. This was people taking the time out of their day to recognize there was an emergency.”
Among those who helped with CPR was Wendy Everett, who wrote on Facebook it was the first time she had ever needed to use it.
“A man had a heart attack 3 cars ahead of me at the intersection … and there were not emergency responders just yet so I alternated chest compressions with a lady while a gentleman … helped with air,” she wrote on Facebook.
Efforts to reach Everett were unsuccessful.
Mike DeRousie said the team performed CPR on his father six times before Border Patrol Agent Matthew Notari, who happened to be driving in the area, showed up with an AED.
A Border Patrol spokesperson said the agent is not authorized to speak about the incident.
“This is one example of how our agents not only safeguard America’s border, but also strive to use their training and experience to benefit and serve the communities in which they live and work,” said Blaine Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Chris Bippley in a news release.
The release, which doesn’t identify Notari, said he is a trained paramedic and a member of the Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue team. The Port Angeles Fire Department took over primary care when firefighters arrived and transported DeRousie to Olympic Medical Center.
DeRousie said Notari’s timing was critical in saving his father’s life.
“CPR keeps you alive until an AED gets there,” he said. “Everyone did everything right. That’s why it’s so important that people learn CPR and learn to use defibrillators.”
Mike DeRousie said his father is now recovering and was able to talk. He had no broken ribs, though his chest was sore.
Mike DeRousie said doctors will continue to check on his father over the next few days and that all indications are positive at this point.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
