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2 friends help save life of B.C. man hit by 5-ton semi trailer

Jeremy Scholing and Matt Burnett performed life-saving measures after man struck on Lougheed Highway
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Now back in Abbotsford, two friends, Jeremy Scholing (left) and Matt Burnett, reflect on the night of Halloween, when they helped to possibly save a man’s life after he was struck by a five-ton truck on Lougheed Highway in Pitt Meadows. Dustin Godfrey/Abbotsford News

When Abbotsford resident Jeremy Scholing took a beginner-level first aid course several years ago, he never thought he would have to use it.

That changed when a 22-year-old man was struck and seriously injured by a five-ton truck after reportedly attempted to run across Lougheed Highway after a Halloween event at Roosters, a bar in Pitt Meadows.

It was the actions of Scholing and his friend, Matt Burnett, both Abbotsford residents, that may have saved the life of the man.

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“We just heard the bang, looked and saw this figure of a guy there. So we just started running. Then Matt was checking, didn’t find a pulse or anything, so I just started doing CPR, I guess,” Scholing said.

“It was super, super dark and there was no way the truck would have been able to stop. It was raining, as well. … We heard the thump and then Jeremy was just like ‘we need to pull over.’ And then we ran out,” Burnett added.

Burnett, a car salesman, said the man wasn’t breathing, and the pair of 23-year-olds got to work.

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“I basically took the shirt off my back because there was a lot of blood around his airways. So I started to wipe the blood off, and Jeremy was doing mouth-to-mouth and CPR and was able to get him to start breathing,” Burnett said.

“Near the end he started breathing, like choking a little bit. That’s about it. And then the ambulance came and took him away,” Scholing added.

Typically when someone calls 911 on a health emergency like these, the dispatcher will walk the caller through life-saving measures, like CPR. While Scholing knew CPR, he said it did help to have that voice on the other end of a call to walk him through it.

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“The paramedic was walking us through it a bit, and just helping me keep a count and stuff like that,” Scholing said.

The adrenaline kicked in, and they were able to work on the man with clear heads, the pair said.

“It didn’t feel real, I guess. Didn’t click in until afterwards,” Scholing said.

The pair spoke to victim services afterward, but they said they weren’t traumatized by the event.

“We’re coping OK. We’re totally fine. It’s just one of those things that you think about a lot. … One of the biggest things is I just picture his face every once in a while,” Burnett said.

“I just want to know if the guy is OK or not. I haven’t really heard anything, yet,” Scholing said. “I can’t stop thinking about it, but we’re good. … In the end I’m just glad that we were both there.”

Last the two heard, the man was in critical condition, but Burnett said they expected to hear back from the police on Saturday to get an update.

Scholing, now working in telecoms, said he got CPR training at a former job as a gutter installer.

“It was never really something I felt was that important,” he said, “but now I feel like everybody should at least have an understanding of CPR.”