Pennsbury Student's Heroics Earn 'State Of Union' Seat

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —Jake Woodard has a special seat for President Joe Biden's "State of the Union" Address Thursday night.

He'll be seated in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

The Pennsbury High School senior is a special guest of U.S. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick.

“I am proud to welcome Pennsbury High School Senior Jake Woodard as my guest to this year’s State of the Union Address,” Fitzpatrick said. “Jake’s advocacy for advancement in special education policies across our district, through his own experience with dyslexia, will have a lasting impact in our community.”

Fitzpatrick talked about how Woodard's family was driving from a holiday party late in the evening on the day after Christmas, with freezing temperatures, when Woodard noticed a car had pulled over to the side and a man was lying on the ground.

A woman was waving for help.

Woodard —a certified lifeguard and member of Pennsbury’s JROTC program —immediately demanded that his father pull the car over so he could help.

Woodard got out of the car and went to help the man, who had been walking on the sidewalk and hit a large patch of ice that was about three inches thick and landed on his back, likely hitting his head on the ground.

A woman and her son had seen the man and pulled over.

However, as they were unsure how to help him, they waved down Woodard's car for help.

As the adults stood around questioning what to do, Woodard took a knee and began speaking to the man by identifying himself and telling him he was there to help.

The man told him his name and stated he had been on the ground for about 15 minutes. As the man was groaning in pain and stating that he couldn’t move, Woodard advised the man not
to move.

After a few minutes, the man lost consciousness, and as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, his tongue also rolled to the back of his throat.

Woodard reached into the man’s mouth and cleared his airway to ensure he could properly breathe. As they waited for the EMTs to show up, Woodard continued to take the man’s pulse and
repeatedly checked that the man was still breathing all while saying ‘‘Dan, you are going
to be okay, but you need to stay with us.’’

When the EMTs showed up, Woodard immediately told them what had happened, how
long he had been there and included the rate of his pulse and breathing.

As the EMTs stabilized the man’s neck, Woodard continued to speak to the unconscious man, telling him help was there, and that he needed to try and wake up.

When the EMTs struggled to get the man onto the gurney because of the thick ice, they asked Woodard to assist. He reached under the man’s lower back and legs, and as best he could he kept him stable while assisting the man onto the gurney.

The man never regained consciousness, but Woodard made sure the man didn’t move, was still breathing, and made sure he knew he wasn’t alone.

When it was all said and done, Woodard’s mom proudly hugged her son and asked him how
he knew what to do, Fitzpatrick said.

He said lifeguarding taught him what to do and JROTC taught him why to do it, as he stated it was his duty to help.

"We are all incredibly grateful for the bravery and heroism of Jake Woodard and all that he
does for our community," the congressman said.