Bend teen honored for helping save grandfather’s life

Bend Fire and Rescue on Friday presented 17-year-old Israel Hawley with a Lifesaver Award. Hawley and three Bend police officers were recognized for using CPR to save the life of Hawley’s grandfather last December.

Bend Fire medics and police officers said bystander CPR greatly increases survival rates and can be the difference between life and death.

Hawley was after saving his grandfather and preventing what could have been a horrible car crash.

The accident took place on the southeast side of Bend just a few days before Christmas. The grandparents and grandson were headed to church when the grandfather suddenly passed out.

“I looked over at him and he was slumped over at the wheel with all color out of his face,” explained Hawley’s grandmother, Pauline Sandretzky.

Donald Sandretzky, 79, had gone into cardiac arrest. He lost control of the wheel, allowing the truck to head up a hill and into the Dollar Tree store parking lot.

“There were cars in the parking lot and everything, and I realized, ‘Hey, I need to stop this truck,” the teen said. “So I jumped from the back seat and put my hand on the break and turned off the truck. Then I called 911 immediately.”

The Deschutes County 911 dispatcher told Hawley to get his grandfather out of the truck and begin CPR. He did CPR for seven or eight minutes, until police arrived.

Hawley had never been trained in CPR, but knew it was critical to saving his grandfather’s life.

His grandfather does not remember the day, but is grateful to the his grandson and the team who helped save his life.

“I crossed Parrell (Road), which is a busy street, and there wasn’t a car there,” Donald Sandretzky said. “I went into the parking lot, which is full of cars — but there were no cars there.

“Everything was a miracle. God was looking after me.”

The first officer who arrived on the scene was at Friday’s ceremony and stressed the importance of CPR. He said every minute without CPR cuts the chance of survival by 10 percent.

According to Bend fire officials, the survivability of cardiac arrest outside the hospital is just 20 percent — and in many cities, it’s as low as 10 percent.

But in Bend, the survivability rate is 50 percent, which is one of the highest in the country.

“I think everyone should at least learn basic chest compressions, because as you heard today, it makes a big difference is someone living or dying,” said Bend Police Pfficer Nick Lee.

At the ceremony, Sandretzky thanked his grandson by surprising him with something every teenager dreams of: a new car.

The family also is about to celebrate a couple of milestones. Sandretzky turns 80 on Saturday, and Hawley turns 18 on Sunday.

The Bend Fire Department has begun offering Pulse Point, a mobile phone application that notifies, through 9-1-1, any signed up CPR provider if there is a cardiac arrest victim in proximity. For more information about the app, visit: www.puslepoint.org.