SPOKANE, Wash. – A teenager working at a Dutch Bros. coffee shop saved a man’s life by performing CPR in downtown Spokane.
16-year-old Levi Pickering saw an unconscious man lying outside the Dutch Bros. in downtown Spokane, and ran outside to perform CPR and eventually save the life of the man.
Pickering was working the window of the store after just finishing washing the dishes when he saw a group of people huddled around a collapsed man on the ground. He saw someone incorrectly giving CPR and moved them out of the way to perform correct chest compressions, Pickering said.
“I’ve never really done anything like this. Something just took over, I guess. I just moved him aside and started doing what I thought would work and it did,” Pickering said.
He saw that someone had administered Narcan to the man, and he did CPR for roughly 30 seconds before the man began coughing and breathing on the ground, according to Pickering.
Pickering’s father is a surgeon’s assistant and had told him about how much force you need to apply when doing CPR. He called 911, and they helped instruct Levi on administering the chest compressions.
Kevin Parker, the owner of the Dutch Bros. on Second Avenue and Washington Street, said he was extremely proud of his employee for going above and beyond his duty.
“That’s not on any job description, you know, but that’s who Levi is. You know, Levi is a kid who sees a need, and fills it. And he gets that from his mom and dad.” Parker said.
Pickering said he returned to work afterward and was happy he was there in time to help the man.
