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It happened quickly: One second, 67-year-old mail handler Aubrey Harvey was standing by the timeclock talking with the Englewood postmaster, the same as he always does before his morning break -- the next he was gasping for air on the floor.
Harvey, who's been with the U.S. Postal Service nearly 50 years, "was having what looked like a seizure," supervisor Ramón Maldonado said. "He was totally unresponsive and gasping for air."
A 911 dispatcher told him someone needed to immediately begin CPR.
"Everything flashed right there," said Maldonado, 30, of Palisades Park, who learned CPR in high school. "I started doing chest compressions. "I was going back and forth with the operator and kept doing the compressions.
"We lost him for a moment there, but I kept doing the compressions."
Arriving at the Smith Street annex just in time, Officers Mark Van Wormer, Shawn Ensenat and Adolfo Gutierrez took over CPR.
They shocked Harvey with a defibrillator and "were responsible for helping revive the victim and instrumental in saving his life," said Sgt. Ken Londahl-Smidt.
Harvey underwent successful bypass surgery at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center following Thursday morning's rescue.
Although the officers were the true heroes, police credited Maldonado for his role.
"I'm grateful I was able to give him that extra chance until they arrived," he responded.
"Luckily, he didn't suffer any brain damage," Maldonado said. "He remembered what he had for breakfast. He just didn't remember collapsing.
"Thankfully, he survived."
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