Team effort saves life of South Brunswick basketball player

💓 Jarvier, 48, collapsed while resting on the sidelines

💓 A firefighter and an athletic director are among those who immediately took action

SOUTH BRUNSWICK – Several members of an over 40 men’s basketball league worked together to save the life of a player who collapsed after suffering a heart attack.

During a game on Aug. 9, a 48-year-old player named Jarvier told a friend he didn't feel well and took a seat at the end of the gym. As play continued, he collapsed face first onto the floor. Players immediately came to his aide including Kingston volunteer firefighter Cheng “Rob” Lee who knew that action needed to be taken quickly.

Lee told site supervisor Mike Dooley to call 911 and had someone else get the automated external defibrillator (AED) as Jarvier gasped for air and began turning purple. Athletic trainer Freddy Schenk began CPR and Lee did mouth-to-mouth in an effort to bring back Jarvier's pulse.

South Brunswick Police Officer Sean Nally and the Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad arrived and all worked together to get the player’s pulse back. After several minutes, Javier regained a pulse and was placed in an ambulance.

South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said there are a couple of lessons to be taken away from the incident. One is learning how to perform CPR and how it can be the difference between life and death.

“It was split second actions by the basketball players, Officer Nally and EMS that saved a father’s life. Each year, 350,000 Americans experience cardiac arrest and only around 10% survive," Hayducka said. "Studies show that if immediate CPR and defibrillation are applied within the first three minutes, most of the victims of cardiac arrest can survive, yet each minute that goes by the chances drop significantly.

Another lesson is the importance of having an AED available.

"The fact that the South Brunswick School District has invested in AEDs at all the schools made a huge difference," Hayducka said.

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