Amtrak officers save NJ Transit conductor having heart attack in Penn Station
MANHATTAN (WABC) -- Two Amtrak officers jumped into action when a New Jersey Transit conductor had a heart attack at New York Penn Station.
The officers used their training to perform CPR on 56-year-old New Jersey transit conductor Dante Borino.
On Wednesday, the conductor had the chance to shake the hands of the heroes who saved his life.
"I remember sitting here on the chair. Next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital," NJ Transit Conductor Dante Borino said.
A NJ Transit coworker called for help.
"30 seconds later, I hear a thud and I look back and Dante's on the ground," Roger Housman said.
NJT and Amtrak coworkers took Dante from a heart attack to a near miracle.
"When I got there, he looked dead. White, blue lips," said Amtrak police officer Ron Ramsey.
The heroes used CPR and a defibrillator to shock him back to life.
"It really means a lot to me," Borino said.
Dante had called his son, who is an ICU nurse, but collapsed before he could get help.
"Doctors at the hospital said a random blood clot found its way to my main artery and that's what caused a heart attack. They got it out, put two stents in my heart, and I'm fine now," Borino said.
Now, after his near-death experience, he has advice for others.
"For anybody listening, if they feel lousy and they have chest pains, go straight to the hospital," Borino said.
Borino only took a week off after the medical emergency.
"I went to work and guys were saying, 'Are you gonna clean out your locker and retire?' Nope, I'm going back to work," Borino said.
"He is one in a million. He wants to work, doesn't wanna stop," his wife Lisa Borino said.
Borino and his wife are taking a well-deserved vacation to visit Niagara Falls and Walt Disney World.
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