Witnesses, including defibrillator salesman, save woman's life after she suffers heart attack

ST. PETERS, Mo. -- Carolyn Holt had a heart attack while driving. Luckily for her, witnesses to the ensuing wreck included a good Samaritan, two nurses and a defibrillator salesman.

The wreck happened Friday evening in St. Charles County, near St. Louis. Witnesses saw Holt's car cross four lanes of traffic on Mid-Rivers Mall Drive and come to a stop against a guardrail.

"When I looked, I saw the person in the driver's seat was unconscious," Steve Earle, who was in his car, told KSDK-TV. "When I saw what was happening, I jumped out and instinctively grabbed the AED, just in case."

AED stands for automated external defibrillator, a device that shocks the heart into a normal rhythm. Earle sells the defibrillators and always travels with one.

Meanwhile, as another man pulled Holt from her car, two nurses happened by and began to administer CPR. But Holt showed no pulse.

"At that point one of the nurses and I reached for the button at the same time and delivered one shock," said Earle. Holt registered a pulse and was taken to the hospital.

"Two RNs, a man that was able to get her out of the vehicle, the man with the AED -- that just doesn't happen," said Mary Blome, one of the nurses.

Holt continues to recover at a hospital.