St. Cloud school resource officer helps save coach who suffered heart attack during basketball game
ST. CLOUD, Fla. - A coach is lucky to be alive after staff at a school she works at rushed to render her aid after she collapsed during a basketball game.
The body camera showed a school resource officer running into the school gymnasium to the coach’s aid.
"It was very, very obvious apparently from what everybody has reported to me that right away they rushed in to help," Osceola County Superintendent Dr. Debra Pace said.
St. Cloud police said that quick action likely saved the life of St. Cloud girl’s basketball coach, Lynnsy Cranmer. Video showed the moments after she collapsed on the court at the middle school. The team was playing Horizon Middle School in a championship tournament, but the stands and benches were cleared during the emergency.
Several people, including a school resource officer and a physician’s assistant in the stands, found the coach did not have a pulse. They rushed to get the AED machine and gave the coach CPR until she eventually responded and emergency crews arrived.
Pace said all schools in the district have an AED machine near the gyms in case of an emergency like this.
"We’re very, very fortunate that she was able to be revived, and we’re very grateful to all the people who rendered aid," Pace said.
The scares come as emergency training in sports is top of mind for many, after Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field mid-game just last month.
"Certainly there’s been a lot of attention since we’ve had the Buffalo Bills player injured with a heart issue right there on the field and we want to make sure our community knows how important it is to take advantage of CPR classes when you can and to be willing and able to provide aid," Pace said.
The coach is receiving more tests but is expected to be okay. The game was called off last night. The superintendent said it will likely be re-scheduled next week, once the coach and players have time to recover.