An East Texas woman used CPR training to help save a man who collapsed after an asthma attack in a Dallas crosswalk Tuesday night.

LINDALE, Texas — An East Texas woman is being credited with helping save a man’s life after he collapsed in a Dallas crosswalk Tuesday night.

Emma Dilley, a recent Lindale High School graduate, was in Highland Park with a friend when they stopped at a red light and noticed something unusual in the crosswalk.

“I look and there’s a guy just laying in the crosswalk, and there’s a couple people standing around him, looking at him,” Dilley said.

At first, Dilley said she hesitated because she was unfamiliar with the area and didn’t know what was happening. 

“The more I thought about it, the more I like realized that I needed to get out and at least make sure that like someone called 911,” Dilley said.

A bystander told her the man had flagged him down, saying he was having an asthma attack before collapsing. The bystander was already on the phone with 911. That’s when she checked the man’s pulse.

“The first time I took it, I didn’t feel anything, and I actually thought he was dead,” Dilley said. “Then I regained my surroundings and calmed down a little bit, and I redid it, and he had a pulse, but it was just very faint, but he wasn’t breathing at all.” 

A friend of the victim started CPR but quickly became overwhelmed.

“I just ended up being right there and I’m like, I’m certified and licensed. I took all these classes in high school, and I feel pretty confident I can do it,” Dilley said.

Dilley did two rounds of compressions for about four minutes. During the second round, Emma said the man gasped and opened his eyes and his mouth was open, but still not breathing. 

“I just kept doing CPR until the EMTs arrived,” Dilley said. 

Dilley said the man was responsive by the time paramedics left the scene. She credits her training at Lindale High School for preparing her in that moment.

“I’ve practiced CPR over my high school years, and so without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today, and I do not think I would be as prepared as I was on Tuesday, if I hadn’t taken those classes and done those courses.” Dilley said. 

Nicole Hone, a health science teacher and registered nurse at Lindale High School, said students in the program graduate with Basic Life Support certification through the American Heart Association.

“Students have to watch certain videos, and then they also have to do the hands on portion of the compressions and breaths on mannequins,” Hone said.

She said seeing Emma apply those skills in real life is rewarding.

“Emma was an awesome student. It wasn’t hard to teach her. She’s a sponge. She would take in anything, ask great questions, so she was easy to teach,” Hone said. “I love that it translated into the real world, and she’s actually saving lives.”

Dilley’s mother, Stephanie, said she initially feared something was wrong when her daughter called.

“I got a phone call from Emma, and she was very overly excited, and I actually thought that something was wrong,” Stephanie said. “But then she called and told me that she had just done CPR on this man on the side of the road, and he had had an asthma attack.”

Stephanie said she was overwhelmed with pride and grateful her daughter was in the right place at the right time to help.

Dilley plans to pursue a career in medicine and hopes to become a neonatologist, working with premature and high-risk babies.

“It really is a God thing that I was just happened to be driving around Highland Park and stopped at this red light, and I’m just glad that I was able to help him, Dilley said. 

More information on CPR training can be found here.