Unexpected Reaction for Camden County Employee Who Saved Overdose Victim

The recent actions of an off-duty Camden County employee who saved the life of an alleged overdose victim reveals another side of the recent heroin epidemic in South Jersey.

Sara Kucharski, of Audubon, recently told njpen.com it was her instinct that kicked in when she decided to save an overdose victim on Route 130 while she and Koren Norwood, of Gloucester Township, were returning from performing health screenings in Camden late last month.

“I observed a man from the passenger side of the first car stopped, get out and start jumping and running over to the driver side of the car,” Kucharski said immediately following the incident in April. “He attempted to pull the driver out of the car, and I saw that his arm was blue and purple.”

She jumped out of the van and ran over to the man, who was unresponsive. When she realized there was no pulse and he wasn’t breathing, she began CPR. She asked bystanders walking by to call 9-1-1.

“The victim’s eyes opened extremely wide, and he was confused,” Kucharski said. “I instructed him to lay still, that he had a medical emergency and that the paramedics were on their way.”

The victim later thanked Kucharski.

However, she was surprised that her fellow nurses and other first responders praised her actions, but said they wouldn’t have done the same thing, according to the report.

Some first responders said the victim would be back on the street doing the same thing the next day.

Their reaction reflects the burnout they’re feeling from dealing with a seemingly endless amount of overdose victims day after day, according to the report.

Read more at njpen.com.