Verona High Grad Helps Save Construction Worker’s Life At Montclair State: Report

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A Verona High School graduate and Montclair State University police officer recently helped to save the life of a construction worker while on duty, authorities say.

According to reports, MSU police officer Andrew Burde – along with his fellow officers Ron DeWitt and Jeff Struble – were the first responders to the scene of an emergency involving a “non- responsive” and “non-breathing” male construction worker possibly suffering a major heart episode in Partridge Hall in late November.

Arriving on the scene, Burde and his cohorts saw the man had no heartbeat and was beginning to turn blue, campus newspaper The Montclarion reported.

After 15 minutes of ineffective CPR compressions and rescue breaths, DeWitt and Burde then used a defibrillator to shock the man in the chest. He began breathing again shortly afterwards, The Montclarion stated.

Emergency responders transported the man to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson, where he underwent emergency surgery for a heart defect and is recovering well, MSU police said.

Burde, DeWitt and Struble will be honored with a Life Saving Award from the University Police Department, the report stated.

Read the full account here.

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com