A 19-YEAR-OLD man saved the life of a driver who suffered a heart attack at the wheel of his car and mounted the pavement in Santa María de la Cabeza (Madrid) yesterday (Sunday).
Manu was walking through town when he saw the driver, 47, apparently 'drowning' and in pain as his car swerved onto the pathway, and rushed immediately to his aid.
He called emergency services and, seeing that the motorist had lost consciousness, began performing CPR.
Manu kept up his efforts until a SAMUR life-support ambulance reached the scene and paramedics were able to take over.
It is believed the patient has survived, although the Civil Protection, manning the ambulance, said he would have died or at least suffered irreversible damage had it not been for the teenager's presence of mind.
Manu said he had been trained in first aid, and the Civil Protection said his lightning-quick actions were 'an example of how important it is' to learn these skills, and called for more attention to be paid to teaching life-saving emergency techniques from a very young age.
The photograph, taken by Madrid emergency services team, shows the Civil Protection thanking Manu for his efforts.
