Dustin Hoffman helps jogger in Hyde Park after heart attack
Tuesday 08 May 2012
Related articles
A jogger who suffered a cardiac arrest was saved after Hollywood veteran Dustin Hoffman went to his aid.
Sam Dempster, 27, collapsed during a run in London's Hyde Park on April 27.
Hoffman, who has a house in the capital, was enjoying a morning walk when he saw Mr Dempster crash to the floor, landing on his face.
When paramedics from London Ambulance Service (LAS) arrived the Rain Man star explained what happened.
The 74-year-old actor waited with the stricken lawyer until he was resuscitated and rushed to hospital.
When it became clear the patient was stabilised Hoffman congratulated the three ambulance crews present saying: "Great job, guys."
Paramedic Martin Macarthur, who saved Mr Dempster with colleague Luke Sullivan, said: "As we got out of the ambulance Dustin Hoffman explained what had happened.
"It is essential to get a history of what has happened and he witnessed the jogger go down, he was the main witness and saw him stagger and go down.
"He said he saw the patient collapse face first on the pavement and that he was frothing at the mouth.
"He stayed on the scene for the whole duration of the resuscitation which was about 15 minutes. He was very concerned.
"We shocked the patient once with the defibrillator and he regained consciousness.
"And at the end Mr Hoffman was kind enough to come up to all the crews and said, 'Great job, guys', which was really nice of him to say.
"We were all aware of his presence throughout but in a job as serious as that we were focused on the patient.
"Control have since been back through the calls and it was someone else who called the ambulance."
In the drama the Tootsie and Kramer Vs Kramer actor lost his music player, glasses, umbrella and diary to the paramedics, who took them thinking they belonged to Mr Dempster.
They have since been returned.
The patient was taken to hospital and underwent life-saving surgery like Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba, who collapsed with the same condition during a televised FA Cup game.
Writing on his recovery blog "Heart-throbbing", Mr Dempster applauded Hoffman and the paramedics.
He said he was "indebted" to Hoffman who was his "new-found favourite celebrity".
PA
From the blogs
Dish of the Day: Lily Vanilli’s recipe for making a human brain cake
A slight deviation from style this week and admittedly a bit weird, but at least I can finally say I...
Owen Howells: From the UK to Australia and back again (and again!)
Owen Howells is a DJ/producer who grew up in Australia but was born in the UK. He came back to the U...
Justice for sale but who pays for the cost?
Justice, the bedrock of our society is for sale under the Government’s latest plan to sell legal aid...
Dish of the Day: How to… make flower power cocktails
Take inspiration from the green-fingered brigade who have been showing off their creativity at the R...
-
That's some guestlist! Stunning images show huge dynastic wedding between Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families which attracted 25,000 guests
-
Emergency landing at Heathrow sparks further controversy over London airport capacity
-
Two bailed after arrest over Woolwich attack Twitter comments
-
Exclusive: Woolwich killings suspect Michael Adebolajo was inspired by cleric banned from UK after urging followers to behead enemies of Islam
-
Men arrested after RAF jet is scrambled to escort Pakistan Airlines passenger plane to London Stansted Airport
- 1 Liam Gallagher slams Daft Punk: 'I could have written Get Lucky in an hour'
- 2 What, let gays get married? We must be bonkers
- 3 'Something passed underneath us, quite close': Airbus A320 has close encounter with UFO
- 4 Lord of the Sings: Sir Christopher Lee, 91, to release heavy metal album
- 5 Two bailed after arrest over Woolwich attack Twitter comments
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Making reading fun for kids
Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.
Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign
Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Day In a Page
The man who's eaten everywhere
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?
Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed
Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them


Comments