by Mike Matzinger
Attorney David Winterton was in the middle of cross-examining a witness when he suddenly collapsed to the floor after suffering cardiac arrest. Within seconds, opposing counsel Matt Johnson rushed to his side.
Johnson quickly realized Winterton had stopped breathing and had no pulse. Drawing on CPR training he learned as an 11-year-old Scout more than four decades earlier, he immediately began chest compressions, despite never having performed CPR in a real-life emergency.
For nearly 10 minutes, Johnson continued CPR while others searched for emergency equipment and waited for first responders to arrive. Even when he feared Winterton might not survive, Johnson later said he kept telling himself not to stop until paramedics arrived.
When emergency responders finally reached the courtroom, they used a defibrillator to restore Winterton’s heartbeat. Doctors later told the family that continuous CPR helped keep oxygen and blood circulating throughout his body, preventing serious brain damage and likely saving his life.
Winterton’s wife later said that if the incident had happened almost anywhere else, the outcome could have been very different. She called Johnson their hero and expressed gratitude not only for his quick actions but also for the compassion he showed by personally calling her during the emergency to reassure her that her husband was breathing again.
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