WASHINGTON — A Montgomery County police officer says he was in the right place at the right time when he helped save the life of a 9-month-old girl on Interstate 270 Sunday.
Montgomery County police officer James Herman was driving home Sunday afternoon after completing his shift, when he stopped a car for speeding and pulled the driver over on the shoulder of northbound I-270 in the area of the Muddy Branch Road exit at about 4:20 p.m. While Herman was speaking with the driver, another vehicle pulled off the highway and parked behind the officer’s cruiser.
“I hear ‘help me, help me,’” said Herman, who turned around to see a man holding a young girl and screaming “she’s not breathing.”
A man and woman — believed to be the girl’s grandmother and another family member — approached Herman for help with an unresponsive 9-month-old. He noticed she was blue in color.
“I knew right then and there — the ‘oh no factor,'” describes Herman.
Herman, an 11-year veteran of the Montgomery County Police Department, cradled the girl in his arms and performed CPR. She soon regained consciousness and coloring.
“You could see her eyes … become attentive and tracking, then you could see her start to smile a little bit, and then I think she got cold and started to cry,” he said. “Crying was good.”
Herman says it he doesn’t know how long he performed CPR, but estimates it was less than 30 seconds.
Herman requested help from the county’s fire department, but before they could arrive, a good Samaritan stopped and offered assistance. The man identified himself as an out-of-state firefighter.
Fire and rescue officials responded and transported the girl to a nearby hospital.
Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Stephen E. Mann, who responded to this incident, says the girl is recovering.
“I am told that this child is doing better and only still alive due to the quick actions of Officer Herman and the unknown civilian who assisted him in providing this life-saving intervention,” Mann said in a news release.
Herman’s 2nd District Commander David Falcinelli says the officer’s training helped him save the girl’s life.
“He followed his training and his efforts resulted in a positive outcome. He is an excellent representative of the dedication and professionalism that Montgomery County Police officers possess,” Falcinelli said in a news release.
Montgomery County officers receive CPR and other emergency medical training during the police academy and throughout their careers as part of annual in-service training.
It was an emotional rescue for Herman who has a 3-year-old and another child on the way. Still, Herman says it was all in a day’s work and he is confident he reacted the same way any other officer would have in the same situation.
“Us police officers, we are all basically the same kind of personality,” he says “We all want the ball when it comes down to the fourth quarter; we just don’t all get that chance. I just happened to get that chance … and was able to perform.”
And that person Herman pulled over? He let the driver go with a verbal warning for speeding.
“I don’t normally make traffic stops on the way home,” Herman said. “I don’t know why (I made the traffic stop), but I think everything happens for a reason.”
WTOP’s Samantha Loss contributed to this report.
Editor’s Note: A change has been made to correct the spelling of Officer Herman’s name.
