At the Hopewell Township committee meeting on Monday June 8th, Hopewell Township Police Department’s Lieutenant Bill Springer and Officer Michael Peterson, as well as to Hopewell Fire Department’s Chief Joseph Novak, were recognized for their life saving efforts in response to an accident in May of this year.
On Sunday May 24th at 3:50pm, an emergency call indicated that a driver had veered off of Pennington Hopewell Road and crashed into a pasture. Upon arrival, Chief Novak and Lieutenant Springer forced entry into the vehicle and Officer Peterson administered a dose of Naloxone, also known as “Narcan,” after determining that the driver had suffered an opiate overdose. The driver was rushed to a nearby hospital, treated and released.
Hopewell Township Police Chief Lance Maloney awarded Lieutenant Bill Springer and Officer Michael Peterson with the departmental Life Saving Award and presented Fire Chief Joseph Novak with a Letter of Recognition. The Township committee thanked each for their heroism and hard work.
“I feel that we are always proud of our police department and tonight we’re just a bit prouder,” said Hopewell Township Mayor Harvey Lester.
Narcan is a opiate antagonist drug in that, when administered quickly by injection, counters the effects of opiates in the case of an overdose. Last year, the Overdose Prevention Act was amended to extend immunity protection to certain professionals and professional entities, and permits needle exchange programs to obtain standing order for opioid antidote dispensation. For the full bill, see this link.
Assemblyman Dan Benson, one of the primary sponsors of the bill, shared his reaction to the awards with MercerMe.
“This is another success story and another life saved because first responders had the tools necessary to deal with an opioid overdose. I am proud to see the Opioid Antidote and Overdose Prevention Act doing exactly what it was meant to do, preventing situations that prior to this law would have too often resulted in death. I thank these three life-saving first responders and will continue to advocate for the availability of drugs like Narcan which prevent fatal overdoses and the services needed after to keep their lives saved.”
