MILFORD — Action by an Iowa State Patrol trooper likely saved the life of a rider on the first day of the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, says a spokesperson for the agency.
The man from California had no pulse as medics from RAGBRAI’s private ambulance service administered CPR on Sunday, July 20, said Iowa State Patrol spokesperson Sgt. Alex Dinkla, who is managing the troopers directing traffic for the ride.
Dinkla said a trooper handling an intersection crossing in the vicinity was summoned to the scene with an automated external defibrillator, which troopers routinely carry in their cruisers
An Iowa State Patrol trooper directs traffic during RAGBRAI.
The ambulance crew, bystanders and other riders had been administering first aid for “quite some time” when the trooper arrived, he said.
“Once he showed up, they put the AED on there, they administered a shock with the AED, and shortly thereafter they detected a pulse,” he said.
Iowa State Patrol cruisers routinely carry defibrillators.
More: What’s it like to be an Iowa State Trooper on RAGBRAI? We spend a morning with one
The man was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Orange City, where the Day 1 ride began. He was later taken by air ambulance to a hospital in Sioux City, where late Sunday afternoon he was “alert, conscious and receiving medical care,” Dinkla said.
This is the third RAGBRAI in which troopers have carried AEDs in their cars, and the second life they’ve saved on RAGBRAI during that time, he said.
“We’re thankful that we’re able to carry these AEDs,” he said.
Philip Joens is riding his 20th RAGBRAI. He has completed the river-to-river trek eight times. He covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register and can be reached at 515-284-8184 or at pjoens@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: State Patrol says RAGBRAI rider revived by trooper’s defibrillator