Concierge's Quick Thinking Saves Delivery Rider's Life in Naples

The quick wit of a concierge in a condominium on the Riviera di Chiaia in Naples saved the life of a 62-year-old delivery rider who suffered a cardiac arrest while on the job. The hero of this story is Raffaele Coppola, 35 years old, married and father of a daughter, who was on duty in a building where he works as a cleaning attendant and also in the role of a 'jailer' operating in the concierge when the owner is absent. The scene, recorded by the condominium's security camera, is dramatic. The rider, who had just made a delivery in the same building, begins to stagger as soon as he mounts his moped. Two passersby, a woman and a man, notice there is a problem and loudly call for help. At this point, Raffaele Coppola enters the scene, rushes into the street, lifts the man, and lays him on the sidewalk, and immediately begins to perform cardiac massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The resuscitation maneuvers last several minutes until an ambulance from the 118 service arrives. The rider is taken to the Don Bosco hospital where he is stabilized. The man is safe and owes his life to the young concierge of the Riviera di Chiaia. He will have to spend some more time in the hospital for treatment and then he will be able to go home. The dramatic nature of the event is all in Coppola's account. 'I heard the cries for help from the passersby,' he explains, 'and I went down to the street. The man was slumped over the moped. I lifted him and laid him on the sidewalk, after freeing him from the backpack he had on his shoulders and the windbreaker. He was unconscious, cyanotic, and there was no heartbeat. A passerby had already called for the 118 service, and I was handed her phone with which I stayed in contact with the doctor. At that point, I began the resuscitation maneuvers. I knew how to behave because a few years ago I worked in unarmed security and had taken a course. I gave him two breaths of air and only then did I feel the heartbeat again, although he had never regained consciousness. A few minutes later, the ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital.' Coppola learned that the driver had survived from the man's wife and son who came to the concierge to thank him. 'For them and for me that meeting was a moment of great emotion. I was worried that he hadn't made it. Then he himself sent me messages on the phone. He remembered nothing of what had happened, which was told to him by his relatives. He said that as soon as he recovers, he will have to offer me dinner.'