MLGW employee administers CPR, saves a life

At least three to five times a week, for the past 20 years, David Leake, Hickory Hill Service Center Garage, takes a nightly jog. Usually his evening run is uneventful, until one warm Sunday night in May when Leake drove to the Old Hernando High School football field in Hernando, Miss.

As he prepared for his run, he saw a woman trying to coax a man from the ground to her car. He watched for a moment, assessed the situation and decided to see what was wrong.

When he approached the duo, the man was struggling to breathe.

“She was trying to get him in the car and drive him to the hospital. His chest wasn’t moving and he seemed to be getting worse the longer we waited. I thought, ‘I have to do something,’ ” Leake said.

Leake asked the woman to call 911 and began chest compressions. On the second set of compressions, Leake said the barely conscious man seemed to go into shock.

“He was shaking real bad. I put a sweater under his head and he went limp. On the third compression, he came back and grabbed my hand tight. He stayed conscious until first responders got there. I was glad to see the guy was going to make it,” Leake said.

Leake has worked for MLGW for 20 years, but the encounter in May was the first time he has ever used CPR. The married father of two and grandfather of five, said he was surprised by the way everything played out.

For instance, he almost didn’t go jogging that night. On that particular evening, the field was emptier than usual and he had just learned CPR two weeks prior during a MLGW training class.

“When the guy passed out, I thought he was going to die. I couldn’t believe that what I was doing actually worked. It was surprising to me that he came back,” Leake said. “To know that he has a second chance at life feels good. A lot of things go through your head when something like this happens. God gave him a second chance.”

Leake said it was a great feeling to know that something he learned at work, saved someone in the community.