A phone call from a worried friend sent two New Bedford police officers to an apartment on Rounds Street, where what began as a routine wellness check turned into a race to save a woman's life. Officers Meagan Pereira and Johnny Vongsouna found the woman disoriented, and within moments she collapsed to the ground and began having a seizure. When the officers checked for a pulse, they could not find one, and they immediately started CPR.
The friend who prompted the check had grown alarmed simply by how the woman sounded during their conversation, according to WBSM. That instinct turned out to be critical. By the time Pereira and Vongsouna arrived and assessed her condition, the woman was already showing signs of distress that would quickly escalate.
Officers Spring Into Action
According to the outlet's account of the incident, the officers observed that the woman seemed disoriented almost immediately upon arrival. Moments later, she went down and began seizing on the ground. The officers determined she was no longer breathing and had no detectable pulse, prompting them to immediately begin CPR.
New Bedford EMS reached the scene and worked alongside the officers, helping provide life-saving care before the woman was transported to a hospital for further evaluation, per the same report. Neither her identity nor her current condition has been released by police.
A Department Pattern of Rapid Response
New Bedford police said the incident underscored the importance of a coordinated response between officers and emergency medical crews, adding that officers' quick actions paired with EMS assistance can make a tremendous difference in a medical emergency. It is not the only recent instance of New Bedford officers administering emergency care in the field. On Thursday, Oct. 1, officers Alexander Polson and Pedro Moco responded to an unconscious, unresponsive man near Cedar Grove and Purchase Street, according to a separate account from New Bedford Guide. In that case, Polson administered two doses of Narcan while Moco began life-saving measures, then started CPR after a pulse could not be detected. After several minutes the man began showing signs of life, a faint pulse returned, and he eventually became alert and oriented before New Bedford EMS transported him to a hospital for further evaluation.
Together, the incidents reflect how often ordinary calls for help in the region turn into life-or-death moments decided within minutes. For the woman on Rounds Street, a friend's concern prompted the check, and two officers began CPR before EMS assisted with her care.
