Officers Save 80-Year-Old Driver With Quick CPR in NJ

An 80-year-old driver is alive today because Bergen County sheriff's officers knew exactly what to do when seconds counted.

The man had stopped breathing behind the wheel at a Hackensack intersection on Tuesday afternoon. Passersby spotted his vehicle motionless at Essex Street and Polifly Road and immediately called for help.

When Bergen County Sheriff's Office officers arrived, they found the driver unresponsive inside his locked car. Without hesitation, they broke through a passenger window to reach him.

The team pulled the man from his vehicle and began CPR right there on the roadway. They also used a defibrillator to restart his heart. Their coordinated effort worked.

For Officer Ryan Dingertopadre, this marked the third time in his career he's helped save a life during a medical emergency. That experience showed as he and his colleagues worked together seamlessly.

Why This Inspires

This rescue highlights something we don't often think about: police officers train constantly for moments exactly like this one. Bergen County requires all sheriff's officers to complete CPR training and expects them to take those skills seriously.

That training requirement exists precisely because emergencies happen in unexpected places. A grocery store parking lot. A residential street. A busy intersection on a Tuesday afternoon.

The officers' preparation turned what could have been a tragedy into a recovery story. The driver remains hospitalized but is expected to survive, thanks entirely to the quick response and steady hands of trained professionals who were ready when it mattered most.

This wasn't luck. This was preparation meeting opportunity, with an 80-year-old man's life hanging in the balance. The officers did what they trained to do, and it made all the difference.

Sometimes the best news is the simplest: someone who needed help got it, and now they get more time with the people they love.