Arizona Man Saves Woman With CPR He Learned From Watching ‘The Office’

An Arizona man saved a woman’s life by using tactics he learned from his favorite series, The Office.

According to the Arizona Daily Star, Tuscon, Arizona resident, Cross Scott performed CPR on a woman after seeing her slumped over the steering wheel of her car. Noticing that her lips were blue, Scott broke through the back window and immediately started performing CPR without any prior training.

“I’ve never prepared myself for CPR in my life. I had no idea what I was doing,” Scott admitted.

The 21-year-old shop technician at Jack Furrier Tire & Auto Care was test driving a customer’s car when he witnessed the woman in her white sedan. With her hazards lights blinking, Scott pulled over to see if the driver needed help, realizing she was unresponsive behind the wheel.

At the time, her car was gently rolling, so he jammed the front wheel with a rock and started banging on her window. Scott says he doesn’t bring his phone with him when he drives customer cars to eliminate any distractions. Luckily, two drivers who noticed he was distressed, pulled over and called 911.

By the time he broke into her car, he checked her pulse and didn’t seem to find one, prompting him to recline her seat back and perform CPR.

Because he had “never prepared” for this type of situation, that’s when an episode of The Office popped into his head. In the episode, “Stress Relief: Part 1” Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell) sings the Bee Gees song, “Stayin’ Alive” while doing chest compressions on a dummy, in front of the entire office, so everyone could learn the art of CPR.

One factual part highly noted about the episode is how “Stayin’ Alive” has the perfect tempo to use as an example of how fast to press on a person’s chest.

After a minute of chest compressions, the woman took her first breath, threw up, and was then rolled on her side. That’s when the paramedics showed up — about 10 minutes after Scott initially pulled over to help the woman.

After the woman was taken away, Scott returned to work, but decided to stop by the hospital later that night to check in on her.

“All I could think about was picturing her face,” he said. “I had to make sure she was ok. That’s the only reason why I went to the hospital.”

After Scott lost his mother at the age of 16 to cancer and having to drop out of school to help support his dad and sister, he reveals that loss played a huge role in his motivation for helping others.

“When my mom got sick and my little sister started growing up, I looked at females a lot differently. Now when I look at a girl, I imagine, ‘What if that was my sister on the side of the road, or mom on the side of the road?’ Unfortunately, my mom isn’t here to see that, but it’s mainly for her. To be honest, it’s all for her.”

Courtney Slanaker is the executive director of the Red Cross Southern Arizona chapter and says it’s vital in learning CPR if someone wants to save a life in that scenario.

“If you don’t do CPR, that victim will die,” Slanaker said. “Don’t be afraid to act. Whatever you do will help that victim and hopefully prevent a death.”

She also admits that the song “Stayin’ Alive” is in fact a good beat to use when delivering CPR.

This isn’t the first time Scott has pulled over for someone on the side of the road. With three years of experience at the auto shop and work experience that dates back to when he was 14, he mentioned how he usually helps stranded drivers at least once or twice a month.