‘What a miracle’: GO train CSA revives passenger that suffered suspected heart attack

What was supposed to be a regular workday for Keri Merrimen quickly took a turn after the emergency alarm was pushed in a GO train about to depart from Union Station in Toronto.

Merrimen dashed to the car where she found a man in his 50s, lifeless, lying on the train floor suspected of having a heart attack. According to Metrolinx, a witness said the man was stumbling and clutching his chest before falling to the ground.

She arrived at the passengers’ area, attempting CPR. Time was of the essence, she says.

“I was made very quickly aware that I was required in that coach with the defibrillator and told that it was a suspected heart attack,” Merrimen tells CityNews.

“The first thing you do is take a deep breath and brace yourself. You know that you have the training. You have to be confident in yourself and your abilities. As a customer service ambassador (CSA), we have extensive training [of] over two months.”

With a few passengers standing at her side, Merrimen then worked to try and save the man’s life.

“I know after we were able to bring the man back to life, I had applied a few compressions, and I saw the pink colour come back to his face and him become responsive again,” she described.

“I remember an overwhelming amount of cheering and a happiness, you could feel it soaring through the coach. I mean, what a miracle to have somebody literally no vitals, lying on the floor, come back to life and be conscious enough to have a conversation with me. [It’s] something I will never forget.” 

This emergency isn’t the first time Merrimen — who has worked with GO transit for four years — has dealt with something like this, experiencing firsthand a similar incident in 2019. In that case, the man had died, with Merrimen saying the fatality greatly impacted her thoughts as she rushed to ensure it wouldn’t happen again on her watch.

“Someone like Kerri, a CSA, is trained to do a wide variety of things including communicate with customers, operate the doors and in this case — perform first-aid and CPR,” says Metrolinx bilingual spokesperson Nitish Bissonauth.

“Often times, people don’t realize this; our CSA’s are the first responders on our trains.”

Calmness, quick-thinking and proper training — just a few attributes that helped Merrimen ensure this would not be the final trip for this passenger.

“He was only in his 50s, and to see someone come back to life and know they have another half of their life to live is just so remarkable.”

With files from Metrolinx