A Michigan man is thanking the Detroit Fire Department EMTs who helped save his life after he suffered a stroke and crashed his car directly across from a hospital earlier this month.
“Everybody was moving at lightning speed,” Frank Kozik told NBC affiliate WDIV while recalling the rescue that took place on Sunday, Dec. 14.
In an on-air interview this week, Kozik presented gifts to Michael Sweeney, Ian Cobbs and Capt. James Gatteno — the three Detroit Fire Department EMTs who responded within moments of the crash. Kozik said he believes their swift action is the reason he’s still alive.
According to WDIV, Kozik was a short drive from his home in Grosse Pointe Farms when he began experiencing stroke-like symptoms. He then struck a median on Moross Road, stopping just across from the emergency department at Henry Ford St. John Hospital.
The EMTs, who had just dropped off another patient, heard the impact and ran to help.
“The entire left side of his body is immobile, was confused, wasn’t able to answer questions correctly,” Gatteno told WDIV.
The team immediately alerted the hospital’s stroke unit. WDIV reported that within eight minutes of the emergency beginning, Kozik had been taken for a CT scan so doctors could determine the type of stroke and begin treatment quickly.
That speed proved critical. Kozik has since returned home after surgery and, according to WDIV, is not experiencing adverse side effects from the stroke. (The Detroit Fire Department and the Kozik family did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.)
Kozik’s wife, Susan, emphasized how fortunate the location was.
“For him to have this accident, right in front of the hospital, a major trauma center,” she said, reflecting on how close he was to immediate care.
“I mean, if he had gotten home, who knows when he would have been found,” she told WDIV. “If it happened on the highway, he could have hit other cars.”
The three EMTs have also been recognized with honors from the Detroit Fire Department.
