Highway heart attack victim saved by passersby in northern Minnesota

A state trooper, an off-duty firefighter and a nurse helped save the life of a 77-year-old man who suffered a heart attack behind the wheel of his truck on a northern Minnesota highway.

The crash happened just after 10:30 a.m. Thursday on Highway 2 near Cloquet, Minn. Wayne Waller and his friend, Mae Line, were traveling west on Highway 2 when Waller became unresponsive and crashed his pickup into some trees along the road.

Three drivers stopped to help: Off-duty Floodwood, Minn. firefighter Robert Zobel, retired Fredenburg, Minn. firefighter Mark Toms and citizen Lacey Silgjord. They worked together to pull Waller out of the truck and began CPR while Patrol Sgt. Scott Parker grabbed an automated external defibrillator from his squad.

The trooper delivered shocks to Waller and continued CPR until an unidentified nurse pulled up on the scene and offered to provide rescue breaths. The group continued with CPR and shocks from the AED until an ambulance arrived.

"The quick actions of the trooper and the people who stopped to help saved this man's life," said State Patrol Capt. Steve Stromback. "This is just one example of the work troopers and other public safety officials do each day to help keep Minnesotans safe."

Authorities are asking the unidentified nurse to contact State Patrol Sgt. Neil Dickenson at 218-830-0472 so she can be recognized along with the other citizens for her efforts.