John Ferro

Poughkeepsie Journal

RED HOOK – When Sgt. Patrick Hildenbrand of the Red Hook village police department saw a car speeding down South Broadway on Monday afternoon, he had no idea the next few minutes would be a matter of life and death.

But that became apparent almost instantly after Hildenbrand switched on the lights of his police SUV.

The driver of the speeding car locked up his brakes, threw open the door and emerged with a lifeless child in his arms.

Today, a 2-year-old boy is breathing normally again after some quick action by Hildebrand and the boy's father, 20-year-old Matthew Morgan of Clermont.

"I just can't thank the officer and his father enough for saving his life," Amanda Small said Tuesday as her son Matthew, a shy, towheaded boy of 22 months, clung to her.

It all happened at about 1:30 p.m. Monday in the center of Red Hook.

Morgan was racing to Northern Dutchess Hospital when he approached Hildenbrand's SUV. When the police officer turned on his lights, Morgan jumped out of the car.

Hildenbrand put the father and his son in the backseat of his SUV and headed to the hospital at full speed, calling ahead to alert the medical staff.

While en route, Hildenbrand had Morgan hold up little Matthew to a partition in the glass that separates the front seat of the police SUV from the back.

"I felt for a pulse on his carotid artery," Hildenbrand said.

He couldn't feel one.

Hildenbrand then began coaching Morgan on CPR techniques.

It wasn't working. Panic was making it difficult for the father to follow instructions, so Hildenbrand had him hold Matthew up close to the partition.

"I have long arms," Hildenbrand said. "I had my arm reaching backwards and I started doing two-finger compressions."

When they arrived at Northern Dutchess, the medical staff began to put an airway into little Matthew.

And then the boy started crying.

He was breathing again.

Blood tests later revealed that the boy had suffered a seizure, his mother said. There was no indication of foul play, police said.

"His father saw him fall over, freeze and start shaking," she said.

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is scheduled for Matthew in November.

On Tuesday, Hildenbrand stood outside the Red Hook police department at the end of his shift, his two daughters playing on a nearby bench.

He spoke about how police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians routinely face similar situations.

Not all of them end happily.

"It's an emotional thing," he said. "It takes a lot out of you. ... I'm glad his parents will be able to see him again and play with him."

John Ferro: 845-437-4816; jferro@poughkeepsiejournal.com; Twitter: @PoJoEnviro