A nurse says she was “In the right place at the right time” when she witnessed a crash on I-71 earlier this month in Ashland County and jumped into action.
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Shannon Ball, BSN, RN, is a hero every day as a nurse at University Hospitals.
On the evening of April 23, while on her way home, Ball came upon a tractor-trailer that had just crashed into a concrete barricade and guardrail on I-71 in Milton Township.
Another man was already on scene and had started CPR on the driver, who didn't have a pulse, and a 911 operator was providing support.
Ball took over chest compressions, and an Ohio State Patrol trooper also arrived to help.
All working together, they were able to regain a pulse.
"As a nurse, we are called to take care of people," said Ball. "That's exactly what I tried to do when I stopped for this individual. I didn't really second-guess it. I just stopped and did what my instincts told me to do."
The mom of three said she's been praying for the victim ever since the accident, and feels like a higher power placed her there as she had left work unusually late that day.
"One of the other things that I have been thinking about is I actually got delayed leaving on time," she said. "So, I really, again, feel like I was in the right place at the right time."
Ball is a nursing professional development specialist at UH and said she was teaching a class and stayed late cleaning up and chatting with people afterwards.
Ball encourages everyone to take CPR training, as you never know when you may be called to be a hero. She also encourages people not to be afraid to help others in times of need.
She said she feels a special bond with the others who stopped to help that day, including that man on scene when she arrived, a businessman from Cincinnati who was in town to watch his daughter play softball.
As for the victim, authorities have identified him as a 71-year-old man from Cuyahoga Falls. The hospital tells us he's been moved out of intensive care and into his own room now and is improving.
