A woman who survived a cardiac arrest and stroke while driving has reunited with the police officers who helped save her life.
Jacqueline Alston, 62, collapsed while driving on Dunmow Road near Ongar in May, causing her car to crash into a telegraph pole.
Her heart stopped for over an hour, but thanks to quick-thinking police officers and members of the public, she survived against all odds.
Jacqueline’s husband, Gary, said: “She shouldn’t be here really. Nobody survives a stroke and a cardiac arrest.
“If you saw what happened in a film, you’d turn it off because it was unbelievable. Nobody who attended the scene should have been there.”
Bystanders Andy Fleming and Adrian Rowell rescued Jacqueline through the car’s sunroof, while community officers Sgt. Fitt and PC Baggley, who were nearby, quickly responded to the call.
Upon arrival, they cut away Jacqueline’s clothes and started CPR, while trained medic Mark Johnson readied a defibrillator retrieved by a passerby.
Placed on life support at Basildon Hospital, Jacqueline’s family feared the worst, but after four days in critical care, she was talking again – defying expectations of her recovery.
After months of recovery at several hospitals, Jacqueline finally returned home to Braintree in December, just in time for Christmas.
Sgt Fitt said: “When we found out Jacqueline was conscious it was fantastic but to go to the house and see her was absolutely unbelievable.
“It was surreal. Nobody expected her to be having a family Christmas.”
Sgt. Fitt shared that he was teary when Mrs. Alston expressed her gratitude during their reunion last month, calling it a moment he would carry with him on challenging days at work.