By Erik S. Hanley
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
January 5, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a man was struck twice by two separate cars in Caledonia, both driven by Franklin residents, a third Franklin man stopped to perform CPR \u2014 and ultimately saved the victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matt Wolter, 37, of Franklin was driving home Dec. 30 from work at SC Johnson in Racine around 6:30 p.m when suddenly, Wolter said, he saw a flash of brake lights about 1,000 feet ahead. Then, he saw something fly up and over the vehicle in front of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thought it was a deer; no, it was a human,\u201d Wolter said, adding that the man appeared to roll over the vehicle and land on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pedestrian, a 54-year-old man from Caledonia, was walking west on the north side of 6 Mile Road and crossed southbound into the path of a westbound vehicle, according to a news release from Caledonia Police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe driver, a 29-year-old man from Franklin, swerved to avoid striking the pedestrian but was unable to do so,\u201d the release said. \u201cThis vehicle then left the roadway, where it struck a tree in the front yard of a residence and the pedestrian remained injured in traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man was hit a second time by another vehicle driven by a 51-year-old Franklin man. All involved parties cooperated on scene and police said alcohol and\/or drugs likely were not a factor for either driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After seeing the man get hit, Wolter put on his flashers and pulled over. He walked over and found the man lying in the middle of the road. One of the drivers was already there on the phone with the police asking if the victim was alive and breathing. The man was moaning and there was blood pooling at his head, Wolter said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey (the victim) weren\u2019t with it,\u201d he said, adding the man\u2019s leg was \u201ctwisted up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wolter said he had to do something, so he began to perform CPR on the man, doing chest compressions as recommended by the dispatcher. Police arrived at about 6:32 p.m., according to the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOfficers took over life-saving measures until relieved by Caledonia Rescue,\u201d the release said. Emergency personnel rushed the victim to Ascension All Saints Emergency Room; due to the extend of his injuries, he was later flown by Flight For Life to Froedtert Hospital, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wolter said the EMTs \u201cwere like a SWAT team, they were quick and efficient,\u201d adding that an EMT told him he probably saved the man\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Driving home Wolter was \u201cshook.\u201d Once there, Wolter posted what he called a public service announcement on Facebook telling people to get trained on first aid and CPR and to donate blood \u2014 something he\u2019s done 68 times since he turned 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wolter, who has a Ph.D. from the school of public health at the University of Wisconsin \u2014 Milwaukee, said he\u2019s had his CPR and First Aid certification for about the last ten years but had never used the skills before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like karma or paying it forward,\u201d Wolter said. \u201cYou\u2019re not sure when you\u2019ll need it, so you want to be prepared. I hope someone would help me.\u201d Now that he\u2019s a father of a 6-year-old and a 5-year-old, Wolter said that gave him more motivation to keep up with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wolter checked with Caledonia Police the next day but said they didn\u2019t share much other than that the man was alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wolter said he doesn\u2019t want people to make this about him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really want to make this as a hero thing,\u201d he said. \u201cI think of it more as about the importance of first aid training and donating blood. I was just there and doing a duty I think most people should do. I\u2019m not extra special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Caledonia Police said the incident is still under investigation.Mat<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Erik S. HanleyMilwaukee Journal SentinelJanuary 5, 2021 After a man was struck twice by two separate cars in Caledonia, both driven by Franklin residents, a third Franklin man stopped to perform CPR \u2014 and ultimately saved the victim. Matt Wolter, 37, of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":2348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[66,38,68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-engagement","category-news","category-students"],"yoast_head":"\n