N.J. man saved by defibrillator he donated to police

By Aimee Bronfield
NorthJersey.com

JEFFERSON, N.J. — Those who have ever wondered about the benefits of giving to charity may want to ask Harold Liberatore. The 66-year-old man from Milton recently led a fundraising campaign to purchase three AEDs (automated external defibrillators) for the Lincoln Park Police Department.

Liberatore knew the medical equipment would provide critical aid to individuals in cardiac arrest. He never imagined, however, that it would save his own life. A few months ago, Liberatore was out shopping by himself for a party when he stopped at a traffic light along Main Street in Lincoln Park. That's the last thing he remembers before waking up in Chilton Hospital.

Liberatore was found alone in his car, slumped over the steering wheel, by a bystander who immediately called for help. Fortunately, an off-duty police officer was driving right behind him, and additional responders arrived within minutes, including three more officers from the Lincoln Park Police Department and a volunteer rescue team from Lincoln Park Emergency Medical Services. First on the scene was Patrolman Russell Ruggiero, who is also an experienced emergency medical technician, and he had an AED in the trunk of his vehicle.

Full story: Local Jefferson man saved by defibrillator he donated