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BURLINGTON — At 9:17 a.m. Friday, Feb. 3, members of the N.C. Highway Patrol were conducting routine patrol on I-40 near N.C. 87 in Alamance County.
While on routine patrol, Trooper John W. Eberle observed a vehicle on the opposite side of the interstate that had collided with the concrete median barrier. Trooper Caleb R. Kirby, who was also in the immediate area, heard Trooper Eberle relay what he had seen to the communications center and quickly responded.
Trooper Kirby arrived on the scene first to find an elderly male unresponsive behind the wheel of his vehicle. Trooper Kirby noticed minimal damage to the vehicle from the collision and quickly recognized that the elderly male was possibly suffering from a medical emergency and requested EMS to respond.
John W. Eberle
Times-News
Contributed
Caleb R. Kirby
Times-News
Contributed
Troopers Kirby and Eberle, who arrived shortly thereafter to assist, quickly gained access inside the locked vehicle, safely removing the patient. Troopers assessed the patient to find a very weak pulse and shallow breathing. Trooper Eberle began CPR and was assisted by a responding member of the Graham Fire Department. An automated external defibrillator (AED) was utilized to analyze the patient’s heart rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock. Trooper Eberle continued CPR on the patient until EMS arrived on the scene.
Troopers discovered that Victor Earl Pate, 78, of Graham was traveling west on I-40 operating a 2010 Toyota truck when he suffered a medical emergency, traveled off the road to the left and struck the concrete median barrier. Pate was transported in critical condition to Alamance Regional Medical Center in Burlington where he continues to recover.
