Off-duty nurse, paramedic credited with saving Hinsdale hit-and-run victim

HINSDALE, Ill. (WLS) -- An off-duty nurse and a paramedic are credited with saving the life of a hit-and-run victim found on the side of the road in west suburban Hinsdale three weeks ago.

The 45-year-old Chicago man was having car trouble and was hit while crossing the street to get help. He stopped breathing and did not have a pulse when he was found at the scene, just west of I-294 on Ogden Avenue.

Off-duty nurse Christina Norris and paramedic Britney Shlifka had just left work at 11 p.m. on October 17 when they saw a Hinsdale police officer alone at the scene and stopped to help him. Both had finished 13-hour shifts at a suburban immediate care center.

"We were shocked initially, you don't expect to see something like that," said Norris.

Once the pair realized the man had no pulse, they started to administer CPR while keeping his neck stabilized and airway open. After a few seconds, the man gasped and started breathing.

"If it wasn't for these medical professionals that rendered aid, who knows what the outcome would have been," said Deputy Chief Erik Bernholdt.

As the man recovers, questions turn to the driver who hit him. Police are interested in several cars caught on camera at the time and place of the incident: a blue silver pickup truck with lights on the roof, a dark colored Jeep Cherokee, and a silver sedan with a dimmed driver side headlight.

Norris and Shlifka said they want to know what happened too.

"Our main thing is find the person that did this, that hit somebody and would leave," said Norris.

"I would hope they would come to the police and tell them what they saw," said Shlifka.