Officers Save Life Of Man In Cardiac Arrest In Newtown Township

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — Newtown Township Police Chief John Hearn on Wednesday reported on several life saving efforts made by his officers during the month of January.

The chief delivered his report during the Feb. 8 board of supervisors meeting.

As the month began, Hearn reported a successful life saving incident on Williams Avenue. Two officers - Corporal Paul Deppi and Officer Brent Helvig - administered CPR to a man in cardiac arrest and successfully revived him.

“He’s doing well today,” said Hearn.

Also in January, Hearn said officers - first on the scene of an early morning fire on New Year's Day - made an heroic attempt to save a 76 year old woman from her burning Headley townhouse, but were beaten back by the flames.

The woman succumbed to smoke inhalation. It was the first fatal fire in the township in more than 40 years.

In other reports, Hearn told the board of supervisors that on January 26 police responded to a strong arm robbery involving juveniles behind Jake’s Eatery on the Newtown-Richboro Road. The juveniles were all taken into custody.

A strong arm robbery does not involve the use of a deadly weapon to commit the criminal offense. Instead, the defendant(s) either use intimidation, a threat of force, or actual force to intentionally deprive a victim of their property.

The chief also reported that a new, updated outside mailbox has been installed on Terry Drive at the Newtown Post Office, but he continued to caution residents to continue dropping off their mail inside the post office to prevent theft.

The theft of mail from outside collection boxes has been an ongoing issue in the area. The boxes make for easy targets for criminals who steal checks from the mail and alter the payee's name and amount through a process called check washing. They then fraudulently deposit or cash the checks.