Spectators, Athletes Help Revive Boston Marathon Runner

BOSTON --

A man running the Boston Marathon Monday was saved by spectators and fellow athletes after he collapsed and suffered cardiac arrest.

Carleton Smith, 64, collapsed and staggered to the ground at the intersection of Beacon and Mountfort streets in Kenmore Square at about 1:20 p.m. The location is less than two miles from the end of the race.

Spectators and fellow runners began CPR as a nearby ambulance crew was called.

"That was probably the greatest thing that could have happened to that man when he fell down," said Janell Jimenez of EMS.

She and her partner then began to use a defibrillator to resuscitate Smith, who is from Louisiana.

"We were doing CPR and ended up bringing him to the back of the ambulance where we got a pulse and he started breathing on his own," said Jimenez.

Race officials said Smith is in good condition at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

"This is a day I am going to remember the rest of my life. It was so special and every marathon is going to bring back those memories," said Jimenez.

A total of 1,324 runners in the field of more than 26,000 received first aid of some sort along the route or at the finish. Thirty-three were taken to hospitals for treatment.

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