A man who saved a driver's life as he shopped with his parents said he was 'just doing his job".
Mike Van Driel, 32, from Ellesmere Port, was on a shopping trip in May with his parents at Croft Retail park, Bromborough, when his dad spotted a car driving across a field and colliding with a speed camera. Mike told his parents to pull up and go closer to the car.
When they reached the car Mike noticed the driver was slumped in his seat, showing all the symptoms of a possible cardiac arrest, which can lead to death if not treated immediately. Mike, who was off duty from his ambulance service job, said he "clicked into action" and rushed to the man's aid.
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He told the ECHO: "I went up to the driver's side and I could see he was slumped at the wheel so I thought I needed to get him out the car. The door was locked but he had a crack in the window so I just reached my arm through and opened it.
"I could tell by his symptoms that he wasn't okay. I took his seat belt off and with the help of another guy we dragged him out the car.
" When I arrived at the car he was still there, but he was just on the verge, like he was about to drop out.
"I then just started performing CPR on him, for about 13 minutes continuously until the paramedics turned up. Then I just assisted them with whatever they needed.
"Luckily we managed to bring him back."
Despite being a first responder, it was the first cardiac arrest Mike had experienced. He added: "For me it was like switch on now and do what you've been trained to.
"I had to tell my parents to back off for a minute and just let me do what I needed to. You don't realise when you're doing it how much adrenaline is going through you.
" In training we do two minute intervals and then our crew mate will swap over, but because I was just determined not to give up on him I thought I’d keep going, I’m not going to stop there. I’d keep going as long as I could then paramedics turned up and we brought him back."
Mike is now friends with Stephen Reynolds, the driver, after making contact with his family on Facebook. He said: " It was great to see him up on his feet.
" I was getting nothing but praise from his family but I’m one of them- I respect what they were saying but I was just doing my job at the end of the day. Regardless of whether I was trained or not, I would’ve stopped and helped in anyway I could."
Months later Mike would play a part in saving another man's life as he returned home from ambulance training. In mid-August he was stuck in a traffic jam as he drove through Ellesmere Port and noticed a group of people attempting CPR on a man who had collapsed.
He said: " There was a couple of people on scene already, there was one guy called Ben, medically trained as well, and he was unbelievable.
" Him and a couple of people helping out, including a woman called Sophie, were brilliant, and between us all we managed to bring this guy back. I’m not taking all the praise for this because the group that helped were brilliant.
"With situations like these you go home thinking what if: did they make it, didn't they?
" That day I was going for a family meal, but when I got home I just cried. When you get home it all hits you.
"At the time you get on with it then you have your moments when you can breath and process what you’ve been through.
"But to be in this situation two times and the people be still with us today, for me that’s priceless."
Mike will be honoured by Merseyside Police for his actions to help save Stephen's life at a reward and recognition ceremony in December. He said he was also overwhelmed by the praise from Facebook, after his mum's posts about her hero son received thousands of likes.
He added: "The praise is overwhelming really. It’s quite nice to see it. Again I'm just a guy doing my job but to see that recognition is unbelieable."
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