A 24-year-old man died after he collapsed while running in the Montreal Marathon. The man was identified as Patrick Neely. He was competing in the 21.1 kilometers half marathon when he suddenly collapsed at the corner of Cherrier and St-Hubert streets. The incident happened at around 10 in the morning.

Timely intervention

According to the police, Neely was about two kilometers from the finish line when he suddenly suffered a cardiac arrest. Emergency first responders arrived in the area and some bystanders were already providing CPR on the victim. The first aid team of the Montreal Marathon was not yet in the area.

Neely was immediately brought to the hospital by the paramedics where his condition worsened. The coroner’s office of Quebec later confirmed that Neely died in the hospital.

Edmonton first aid — Emergency first responders arrived in the area and some bystanders were already providing CPR on the victim.

A resident of Montreal named Josee Gagnon was watching the marathon. She saw a woman holding a sign and cheering on the participants in the marathon. According to Gagnon, she saw Neely who was near the finishing line. He appeared to be struggling and about to reach the finishing line.

In a few seconds, Neely feels down on the ground. Gagnon together with two or three other women immediately provided CPR on Neely. She called emergency numbers. the ambulance arrived about 20 to 25 minutes late.

Gagnon poured cool water on Neely while her two companions continued with their efforts in resuscitating the man. Gagnon kept on talking to Neely, screaming and reassuring him.

medical people who were joining the marathon stopped and tried to help. They needed an AED or an automated external defibrillator but are not available. there is nothing we could do beyond chest compressions.

Neely starts turning blue and people were crowding around. She called again the emergency numbers. Neely is having a cardiac arrest.

According to the spokesperson for Urgences-sante, named Tremblay, there are ambulances stationed nearby during the event. They received the call of a collapsed runner at around 9:55 in the morning. The ambulance and the emergency first responders arrived in the area about 8 minutes later.

Neely was immediately brought to the hospital for further treatment but did not recover.

For more information about this story, click here to read now.