'I wouldn't have made it,' Radford man thanks officer for giving him CPR after heart attack

Doug Leonard had heart attack March 20, meets officer that helped save his life

ROANOKE, Va.- – A Radford man said he was saved by a guardian angel. This is how he describes an officer who came to his aide when something went terribly wrong with his heart.

Doug Leonard can't remember a lot of details from that day on March 20 but he does remember feeling sick a few weeks before his heart attack. But he will forever be thankful to the man with a badge and a gun who saved his life.

The two lives forever intertwined all thanks to life saving measures by a Radford City police officer.

"I just want to make sure he got recognized for what he had done," said Leonard. 

Three months ago, Doug Leonard said he was stopped at an intersection when something went wrong.

"I just fell over my steering wheel from what I was told," said Leonard. 

Officer Travis Coffey was pulling into the department when he heard the call for the help over the scanner. He headed to the scene and started CPR until first responders could take over. 

"I was glad to see him breathe but I do know he was gone when I arrived on scene. No pulse, no breath," said Coffey. 

Leonard woke up several weeks later at Roanoke Memorial. 

"One doctor told me if everything wouldn't fell in line like it did, I wouldn't have made it," said Leonard. 

Spending over two months recovery in the hospital he kept thinking about the man who saved his life. 

"It meant so much to me, if somebody they didn't know would go that lengths to help me so much,"

The two finally got to meet last week. Officer Coffey says it was a visit he didn't expect.

"Just to see him walk through the door after the way I seen him that day he's a walking miracle," said Coffey. Leonard says he can't say thank you enough for a second chance at life. 

Doug Leonard is continuing with therapy and getting stronger every day. He's now living alone after he says doctors didn't think that would ever be possible again.


About the Author:

Irisha joined the WSLS news team in January 2017 after spending four years as a reporter in Georgia.