Man who had heart attack behind the wheel reunites with Vacaville Fire crew that saved his life
Vacaville Fire Station 71 was home to a heartwarming reunion on Thursday night. There
By Ashley Sharp
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VACAVILLE, California (KPIX) — Vacaville Fire Station 71 was home to a heartwarming reunion on Thursday night. There, a Dixon man who had a heart attack behind the wheel earlier this year met the first responders who saved his life for the first time.
Michael Colombo, 69, does not remember much from the accident on New Year’s Day.
“I remember driving down the street and then waking up 15 days later in the hospital,” Colombo said.
Colombo was driving to a friend’s house in Vacaville when he had a massive heart attack. He crashed into a boat and then his car rolled into the front yard of a nearby home.
He was completely unresponsive when Vacaville Fire Department firefighter-paramedics arrived on scene.
They knew they had to act fast.
“Because he had no pulse, he wasn’t breathing,” said Darius Zarrabi, the lead firefighter paramedic on scene.
They used the LUCAS machine, a CPR device, to save his life.
“We also shocked him a total of six times en route to the hospital,” Zarrabi said.
Colombo says the fact that he is still alive means this is his second chance at life.
It’s why he wanted to meet the team responsible for saving him.
Colombo, his friends and family, the Vacaville paramedic crew and even the nurse working at the hospital all came together to eat dinner at the fire station on Thursday night.
“So I was out for like 40 minutes, no pulse?” Colombo asked Zarrabi.
“Probably 30 minutes, no pulse,” Zarrabi responded.
“Wow,” Columbo reflected.
He is grateful he finally got the chance to meet his heroes face-to-face and say “thank you.”
“Every once in a while, I think, why? Why was I saved? It was a miracle,” Colombo said.
The man who called 911, John Kern, also attended the reunion. It was Kern’s boat that Columbo crashed into when he had a medical emergency on the road.
“You went up a curb, hit a fence. I ran over, you were slumped over, I thought, this is an emergency, man,” Kern told Colombo.
Paramedic intern Patrick Yeung, now a full-time paramedic at the department, was in charge of running the call as part of his training that day.
Yeung joined the reunion via FaceTime.
“I’ll meet you someday, I’ll come take you to lunch,” Colombo told Yeung over the phone.
For these firefighters, moments like this remind them of their “why.”
“It means a lot. It means I chose the right path and I chose the right job. I love being there on people’s worst days,” Zarrabi said.
From the worst days to the best, Thursday marked a heartfelt thank you, best served over dinner with those who live to serve.
Colombo says he hopes anyone who hears his story is reminded to take their health seriously. For those who have heart disease in their family, make sure to pay attention and get the scans that he admits he ignored.
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