Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber performed CPR on an unconscious woman on Monday night, according to The Oregonian.
Kitzhaber, a former emergency room doctor, was driving to dinner around 5 p.m. when he spotted "someone along the edge of the street who seemed to be attempting to resuscitate a woman" on the ground, spokeswoman Nkenge Harmon Johnson said in an email.
After telling his driver to stop, he jumped out of the car and began giving CPR. He also asked one of his security guards to call paramedics, who took over once they arrived at the scene.
The woman, whose name was not released, was transported to OHSU Hospital and is expected to survive, said Lt. Rich Chatman of the Portland Fire Bureau.
Chatman said fire officials arrived within two and half minutes after the governor's security detail called 911 and administered drugs and a defibrilator to restart her heartbeat. An ambulance arrived 10 to 11 minutes later.
Alan Ferschweiler, a paramedic who responded to the call, told The Oregonian that the woman "had possibly overdosed" when the Kitzhaber found her.
"It was pretty neat to see the governor back on and going back to work," said Ferschweiler. "He was surprisingly calm, and you could see he went right back to the days where he was an emergency room doctor. To go and assist the governor and take over this patient from him is pretty surprising. It definitely took us off-guard."
This is not the first incident where Kitzhaber has attempted to save a life outside of the emergency room. During a primary debate four years ago, he ran from the podium to help a man who was having a seizure.
