April 27, 2001

PRESS RELEASE

To: Newsroom

For Immediate Release

Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Public Information Officer

Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2609, page: 675-2137

Crossing Guard Dies After Suffering Apparent Heart Attack

A school crossing guard suffered an apparent heart attack while on duty this morning and died a short time later after being rushed by fire department paramedics to Willis Knighton Medical Center on Greenwood Road. Hersey Martin, 58, was working his normal post at Queensborough Elementary School, 2701 Catherine Street, when eyewitnesses reported seeing him slump over next to his vehicle and fall to the ground.

Shreveport 911 communications received a call reporting the incident at 8:19 a.m. and dispatched crews from the Fair Grounds fire station who arrived at 8:22 a.m. When firefighters arrived they began CPR after finding Martin not breathing and without a pulse. Paramedics on the scene administered several electrical shocks to Martin’s heart and started an IV with medication in an attempt to revive the city employee.

School officials said that Martin had been a crossing guard at the school for six years. The school crossing guards in Shreveport fall under the direction of the Shreveport Police Department’s traffic operations division.

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