AKRON, Ohio — After a man collapsed at the Akron Marathon late Saturday morning, a good Samaritan, Akron firefighters and members of the Summa Health Medical Team stepped in to help save his life.
It happened around 11:35 a.m. near the finish line. Dan Molnar, a nurse practitioner, was waiting at the finish line for his fiancee, Shea Levi, to finish the marathon.
"My beautiful fiancee, she ran her first marathon and she was about to come across the finish line in about 30 seconds," Molnar said.
But before that happened, Molnar's eyes were drawn to a commotion at the finish line where a male runner had collapsed and was in cardiac arrest.
Cellphone video shows Molnar hurdle a barricade, join other medical personnel and immediately start CPR on the runner.
"I want to help people, so if there's a time where I can use my skills that I've learned over a lifetime, I want to do it," Molnar said.
Molnar said he did CPR for roughly two minutes. The runner's pulse came back, but then it stopped again.
"So I started CPR, and then when he came around the second time after about three minutes or so, then he was much more awake and trying to get up, so that kind of lets us know that he had his pulse back for good," Molnar said.
Kayla Green was also at the finish line waiting for her husband to finish his first marathon. She was impressed with Molnar's quick actions.
"From the corner of my eye, I saw a man jump over two barricades in a white shirt and I was like, what's going on? And I looked over and there was no hesitation. He started CPR," Green said.
Green also praised the Akron Fire Department and the on-site Summa medical team for their care before the runner was transported to a hospital. She feels a team effort saved a life on marathon day.
"You could just feel the emotions from everybody around because everyone was so nervous, just the excitement of seeing him awake and everybody clapped. I felt like I could breathe for him," Green said.
Despite the heroic actions, Molnar doesn't consider himself a hero.
"I don't feel like I'm a hero at all. I'm just happy that I was there. I feel like I did what any other healthcare person would do," he said.
During the emotional ordeal, Molnar missed Shea, who is also a nurse practitioner, finish her marathon. If he had to do it all over again, Molnar would jump in again.
"She's very understanding and appreciative. She would have done the same thing as well," Molnar said.
The Scripps News Group has learned that the man who collapsed is recovering at a hospital.
The Akron Marathon, City of Akron Fire Department, and Summa Health released a joint statement on Monday afternoon:
At approximately 11:35 a.m. on Saturday, during the finish of the FirstEnergy Akron Marathon, a participant experienced a medical emergency. Akron Fire Department personnel and the Summa Health Medical Team responded immediately, providing care on-site before transporting the individual to the hospital. We are grateful to all first responders, medical staff, volunteers, and bystanders whose quick actions and compassion made a difference. We have since confirmed that the participant is recovering, and we extend our best wishes to them and their family.
A statement was also released on behalf of the family.
Our family is extremely grateful for everyone involved, from First Responders to Akron Marathon staff and the entire care team. A special mention to all people at the event who showed incredible compassion and support, especially the person who jumped the fence and started CPR and the person who prayed with us. It was an amazing display of the tremendous good in people.
This article was written by Bob Jones and Drew Scofield for the Scripps News Group in Cleveland.
