Honors set for Falls Sam's Club employee amid search for ID of second good Samaritan
NIAGARA FALLS — A shopping center is at the heart of a tale of two good Samaritans — one known and one not yet identified.
The Buffalo Bandits are preparing to honor one of the individuals — U.S. Army veteran and Niagara Falls Sam's Club merchandise manager Robert Beer — for his role in saving the life of an 81-year-old customer who experienced a cardiac episode while shopping at the Military Road store on Jan. 5.
Beer, who will be honored by the Bandits as part of the professional lacrosse team's 'Hometown Heroes' night, responded to an call about a medical issue inside the store and assisted in performing CPR on the man before using an automated external defibrillator to shock him.
During Saturday's Bandits game, Beer will receive the Heart Saver Hero award from the American Heart Association for his role in providing the man with life-saving assistance until Niagara Falls firefighters and emergency personnel arrived on the scene.
'By time they got him on a gurney and got him out, he was actually awake and talking to his wife,' Beer said during an interview with a reporter from WBKW Channel 7 in Buffalo. 'It was amazing.'
During his weekly address on YouTube on Friday, Mayor Robert Restaino commended Beer for his life-saving actions. He also noted that Beer, the man he helped saved and members of that man's family are still interested in identifying the woman who helped administer CPR in the store that day. Restaino said their combined actions allowed the 81-year-old man to enjoy his 82nd birthday, which was the following day.
Restaino described it as an 'heroic act.'
'They provided signifiant help,' Restaino said.
'The gentleman and his family would like to just express their thanks,' he added.
Anyone who has additional information about the identity of the female good Samaritan who aided the Sam's Club customer on Jan. 5 should visit the Sam's Club store at 1580 Military Road in Niagara Falls or contact the store at 716-298-1580.
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