Lee County telecommunicator, deputy given Life-Saving Award

DIXON — Two Lee County emergency personnel have been presented with the Life-Saving Award for helping to save a 52-year-old who was electrocuted.

During the Lee County Board’s Nov. 21 meeting, Sheriff Clay Whelan recognized telecommunicator Dylan Ehlers and Deputy Alejandro Castro for their work during the Aug. 11 incident.

The call came in around 10:25 p.m., and emergency responders were dispatched to the 1100 block of White Rock Drive in rural Lee County, just south of Grand Detour, Whelan said.

“The individual was unresponsive and the bystanders did not know how to perform CPR,” he said. “Telecommunicator Ehlers provided step-by-step instructions to the bystanders on performing CPR to the 52-year-old victim.”

Ehlers coached bystanders on performing CPR until Castro arrived, Whelan said.

When Castro arrived, he affixed automated external defibrillator paddles to the patient, took over CPR and subsequently delivered a shock with the AED, Whelan said. Castro then continued CPR until medical personnel from the Dixon Rural Fire Department arrived, he said.

“The individual was successfully revived and is alive today because of their performance,” Whelan said.