Woodbridge Employees Save Man's Life in Drug Overdose

Collette Ellerman, the pool director at the Woodbridge Community Center, and Michael Morse, who also works at the town pool, were both honored last Tuesday for saving a man’s life in May.

“Collette and Michael are incredible employees and are a credit to the township,” said Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac in a statement.

The incident happened on May 26; Ellerman, pictured in red above, and Morse, directly to her left, were driving together to Bowtie Pool at around 10 o’clock that evening to check the water levels at the pool for the grand opening weekend.

They noticed a car stopped in the middle of the road on Port Reading Avenue, and other passengers struggling to pull an unconscious man out of it. Ellerman immediately pulled over and ran to the man, while Morse removed the First Aid kit and CPR supplies from their vehicle.

The man wasn’t breathing. Ellerman, who is trained in CPR and other life-saving skills as a lifeguard, began performing CPR.

When police got there, Ellerman told Officer Michael Agosta she suspected the man was experiencing a possible drug overdose. She rolled him onto his back and maintained an open airway while Officer Agosta administered an injection from his NARCAN kit, stocked by many police departments these days to treat narcotic overdoses.

The man was stabilized and taken to a nearby hospital.

After all that, Ellerman and Morse continued to the town pool to check the water levels, city officials noted.

Both Ellerman and Morse were honored at Tuesday’s township council meeting. Ellerman also received the the American Red Cross National Life-Saving award.