FARMINGTON — Two Farmington Police Department officers are being credited with saving the life of a local driver on the Wilton Road on Wednesday.

Officers Darin Gilbert and Derrick Doucette noticed a stopped vehicle that was slightly off the road with a tire on the curb at approximately 10:30 a.m., Bonnie Pomeroy, police secretary, said. The Chrysler PT Cruiser was in front of Farmington Ford and they could see the driver hunched over, she said.

The officers found the driver unresponsive, she said. Gilbert and Doucette pulled him from the car, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the man was revived, she said.

Gilbert requested Franklin County dispatchers send an ambulance and NorthStar arrived within a couple minutes, she said. They stabilized the driver and took him to Franklin Memorial Hospital.

The officers moved the car off the road and went to the hospital later Wednesday to give a family member the keys. The man was still being treated, she said.

Franklin County Communications Director Stan Wheeler said he congratulated Gilbert on Wednesday for his quick actions.

“I told him even if the person doesn’t survive, at least his family got a chance to be with him before he died,” Wheeler said.

Doucette was completing field training with Gilbert. It was his last day of training, Pomeroy said. Doucette was hired by the department at the end of February. He passed the training and was patroling on his own Thursday.

Gilbert was unavailable Thursday for comment. Doucette said it was the first time he had given CPR. The man wasn’t breathing when they approached him, he said.

“It made me feel good about what I’m doing for a career,” Doucette said.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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