A man from New York recently traveled to Flint to thank Genesee County District Court Judge Herman Marable for saving his life on a sidewalk last fall.
FLINT, Mich. (WJRT) – A trip to New York City for a conference turned into a life-changing event for Judge Herman Marable of Genesee County District Court.
Marable was circling a New York City block looking for a parking spot in October when he found himself in the right place at the right time. He leaned on a CPR course he took decades ago to save a man’s life.
“I took a CPR lesson when I was 12 years old,” Marable said.
He noticed Gia, who was visiting New York from the European country of Georgia, suffering from an undisclosed medical emergency on the sidewalk. Marable immediately pulled over and began rendering medical aid to him.
“He just stopped the car, he doesn’t park any car or something he just stopped the car and he pull out and start to help us,” said Lasha, who was traveling with Gia.
He and his other friend, Luka, tried flagging down help but people kept walking and driving right by them as Gia laid on the Brooklyn sidewalk in cardiac arrest. Marable was the first person to stop and offer help.
“No one had the time. New York City they are like fast and everybody does not care who you are,” Lasha said.
Marable found himself in the right place to hear their cries for help.
“If I had found a parking space, I would not have even known what was going on,” he said.
Marable called 911 and began administering CPR with assistance from an emergency dispatcher. Luka offered to park Marable’s car, which was blocking traffic on the busy street, while he tended to Gia.
“We got on the phone with the 911 operator and she was having me do the CPR and fortunately it worked,” Marable said. “The paramedics got there in about five minutes and he was coming around when they got him into the ambulance and that’s when we got to meet each other outside of just being on the street when this happened.”
Gia survived the incident. He, Luka and Lasha all traveled to Marable’s annual holiday party in Flint this month to thank him in person for his life-saving actions two months earlier.
The group now considers Marable a hero and family.
Marable encourages everyone to learn CPR. He is considering a proposal for all Genesee County court employees to receive CPR training after his life-saving encounter in New York.
