Tow Truck Driver Thanks NJ Officers Who Saved His Life

MANCHESTER, NJ — John Macchia walked through the doors at the Manchester Township Police headquarters on Wednesday, hoping to speak with some of the officers.

Just six days earlier the Bayville man was on his back at the scene of a crash, four Manchester officers giving CPR after he collapsed while preparing to tow cars from the crash.

"I know I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for these officers," Macchia said, as he thanked two of the officers who saved his life on March 10, Capt. Vincent Manco reported.

Macchia, 61, a driver for Freedom Towing, had responded to a crash on Route 571 late in the evening on March 10 when he suddenly collapsed because of a cardiac episode, Manco said.

Manchester Patrolmen Michael Steffen, Kyle Rickvalsky, Brendan Brush, and Julian Meaney saw Macchia was unconscious and not breathing, and he had no pulse, Manco said. They started CPR and used an automated exterior defibrillator to shock Macchia's heart back into action, ultimately saving his life.

While at police headquarters on Wednesday, Macchia met with Rickvalsky and Steffen in the department’s briefing room, joined by Manchester Police Chief Robert Dolan, Macchia’s sister and other members of the Manchester Police Department. Meaney and Brush were off-duty and were unable to be part of the meeting, Manco said.

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