UPDATED: Medical emergency had traffic diverted Sunday afternoon near Roganville

Traffic on Hwy 96 in the Roganville area was diverted Sunday afternoon for a medical emergency.

While very little information is known at this time, dispatch requested Kirbyville Volunteer Fire Department to be on the scene to direct traffic as C.P.R. was in progress.

Jasper County Justice of Peace Mike Smith was there as well, but in his role as a First Responder and as a Roganville Fire Fighter certified in CPR. Smith said, "I was on my way home from church when a medical call came through, so I went to assist. I was the 2nd on the scene. Larry Gentry was performing CPR on the driver of the car inside of her car due to safety issues. (They were sitting on the edge of the highway with no way to stop traffic at that time.) I pulled my truck onto the highway with my lights on to give us room to work on her. I removed her from the vehicle, continued CPR (laying on Hwy 96), and hooked her up to the AED (Automated External Defibrillator). I called Missy (Smith's wife who is also CPR certified) and had her come out to help us with CPR. Once fire trucks arrived, we put them around her (for modesty) while we worked on her.

Smith said that Jay and Vicki St John EMT's helped with CPR, Kirbyville First Responder Brandon Brown, Kirbyville Fire Fighters Colton Ellis and Jonathan Coleson, Tri-Community Fire Fighters Joe Morgan and Kevin Regalado were on hand to direct traffic, and a random trauma nurse from St. Elizabeth happened to be in the area and she stopped to help them with CPR.

Two ambulances were on the side of the highway, and DPS, Kirbyville P.D., and Jasper County were all on the scene.

Before long, the unidentified woman was stable enough to be transported and at last word, she was doing well!

The AED that was used to save this woman's life was one of four that the Roganville Fire Department has in its arsenal. They have had them for around two years and are an absolute game-changer in situations like this. Smith said, "Without quick response and quality CPR, her chances of survival definitely would not have been nearly as good. Sometimes it takes all of us to get the job done. We probably did 8 or 10 rounds of CPR before EMS arrived and there were 5 of us working on her."

Since this was a medical call, ETB will not be releasing information on the woman, but we did want to acknowledge those who stopped to render aid and saved the life of this woman. To her family and those who love her, they are heroes; each and every one of them!