A jogger who nearly died from a heart attack on an elysian park trail is hoping to find the “man of mystery” who saved his life. Gordon Tokumatsu reports May 19, 2023.
A jogger who nearly died from a heart attack on an Elysian Park trail is hoping to find the man of mystery who saved his life.
Glen Phillips was enjoying a five-mile jog on the trail six weeks ago when he went into cardiac arrest. That’s when someone called 911 before the mystery man appeared out of nowhere and began trying to save Phillips’ life.
Phillips remembers almost nothing about that fateful morning. His account of the day he almost died comes almost entirely from the first stranger who spotted him.
That stranger – “911 guy” – was busy letting firefighters know where they were. He'd seen Philips – a seasoned runner who's completed 20 marathons – doubled over, hands on his knees.
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Bit then, “911 guy” also witnessed another stranger appear out of nowhere.
“A fit individual, probably in his 30s. That's about it. I don't – this person's very mysterious,” Phillips said.
The man immediately started chest compressions and mouth to mouth resuscitation. When paramedics took Phillips off the hill, he was in bad shape but alive.
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At Glendale Memorial Hospital, doctors gave him an emergency angioplasty. Then, Phillips said, he was placed in a cold-induced coma to combat any potential brain damage.
He spent three days there and now has a stent in a vein near his heart.
“911 guy” humbly declined the spotlight, Phillips said. “CPR guy,” meanwhile, sort of disappeared.
Phillips posted a flier on the trail, asking if anyone knows who the man is. In a world that can seem kind of cold sometimes, Phillips said he was surrounded by humble heroes who did the right thing.
“The guy saved my life,” Phillips said with a laugh when asked why it was so important for him to make a connection with the man who gave him CPR.
Phillips is already running again, though he does it more at the gym these days so more people are around if something happens. But he still yearns to thank the man who saved his life.
“It’s a good message that there are people out there that do care,” Phillips said.
