Deputy saves 12-year-old
BY JOHN ZICK THE LEADER

PRATTSBURGH - An alert sheriff's deputy likely saved a young boy's life Sunday afternoon by twice restarting the 12- year-old's heart.

At approximately 3 p.m., Cpl. Rich Lock was called to a residence on State Route 53 in Prattsburgh for an unresponsive boy. The boy collapsed in his bedroom, and when Lock arrived, the boy's mother was administering CPR.

After assessing the situation, Lock determined the boy was not breathing and had no pulse. Then, he attached electrodes from an Automated External Defibrillator, which indicated the boy needed a shock to restore his heart rhythm.

Minutes after administering the first shock, the AED indicated an other shock was needed. Lock then shocked the boy again .

The victim's heart returned to a normal rhythm as rescue crews from Rural/Metro and Prattsburgh ambulance arrived at the scene.

"Time is a critical part of it," Steuben County Undersheriff Dave Cole said Monday. "(Lock) definitely saved that boy's life."

Cole said deputies have used AEDs approximately 25 times since the program's inception in 2000, and Sunday's effort was the first life-saving use.

"This is what the program is about," Cole said