A man running for mayor in a New Jersey township was going door to door campaigning when he managed to save a potential constituent’s life.
David Merwin, a current councilman who is vying to be Old Bridge Township’s next mayor, was handing out flyers and introducing himself to voters in a community over the weekend when he noticed something strange.
Merwin told CBS 2 that he saw the lights on in a home with “days and days’ worth of mail” piled up.
“Finally, on the third window, I could see a body laying on the ground,” he said, explaining that he called 911 and kicked in the sliding glass door of the residence.
“I seen a little movement of her leg,” Merwin said. “There was definitely evidence that she was there multiple days.”
When paramedics arrived, they rushed the 68-year-old woman, who was conscious and breathing, to the hospital. One of her neighbors, Dennis Winters, said a group in the neighborhood does wellness checks weekly.
“They go around, people they know are alone or sometimes they need someone to take them shopping,” Winters said. “Especially the people like the shut-ins. They need help because she lives alone.”
Merwin has worked with the local emergency medical services squad for decades and encouraged people living alone to have some sort of emergency alert system in case they need help.
“It is very important that those living alone have some kind of alert system. And that’s, ‘Help me. I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.’ Well, this is literally the woman that couldn’t get up,” the mayoral hopeful said.
