An Alabama boy learned CPR from TV and put his skills to use — saving his aunt from a heroin overdose. The 36-year-old woman so happened to be in charge of babysitting her terrified 6-year-old nephew. Victoria Newman was left in charge of looking after her nephew and his 2-year-old brother, but passed out next to syringes, baggies of heroin, and crack cocaine, New York Daily News reports .
Police said in a news release that the boy found his aunt in trouble and tried helping her. The child started giving Newman chest compressions then ran to a neighbor’s house for help when she didn’t regain consciousness. Unfortunately, no one was home, so he had to run back and wait on the porch of the house until another family member showed up.
An adult later got involved and dialed 911.
The boy who learned CPR from TV and tried saving his aunt’s life was put in a terrible position, police Capt. Gregg Rector tells Al .
“This case is yet another example of the destruction being caused by the heroin epidemic. This innocent 6-year-old boy was clearly the most responsible person present at this residence. He did everything he knew how to do to try and help a family member that he cared about very much. But what if he or the 2-year-old had accidentally ingested the heroin or cocaine? What if he accidentally stuck him himself with a syringe?”
According to the report, Hoover Fire Department paramedics treated Newman then rushed her to a local hospital. The incident, which occurred on May 28, led to a warrant for the woman’s arrest for nearly overdosing on drugs while being responsible for watching young children. Newman is being charged with child endangerment and drug possession. She was booked into Hoover City Jail Friday on $20,300 bond.
Rector said this isn’t something that’s going to get fixed overnight and will take a lot of effort on the part of everyone within the community and within families.
“It also doesn’t serve any productive purpose to blame this problem on someone else or some other community. We need parents, sisters, brothers and friends of addicts to step up and play a more active and aggressive role in the lives of those who are affected. We need church involvement; we need rehab organization involvement; we need medical community involvement; we need the court system involvement; we need ‘people who care’ involvement.”
This boy who learned CPR from TV and showing his ability to save his aunt from a potentially fatal overdose proves how scary it is for a child to be in that kind of situation.
[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]