Paramedics and bystanders returned a man to life on the West Main Street sidewalk on Thursday.

According to Washington Fire-Rescue-EMS battalion Chief Doug Bissette, CPR performed on an unresponsive man before paramedics arrived at the scene meant the difference between life and death.

“I think he’s probably alive because that occurred where it did, and those people were there to help him,” Bissette said. “They were there to keep his heart beating or pumping at a regular rate that helped the blood continue to flow and help oxygen continue to get to his body.”

According to witnesses, at around noon, a Chevrolet sedan jumped the curb on West Main Street in Washington, crushing one of the benches in front of the Turnage Theatre before coming to a stop against a tree.

Lilly Roberson Jones was having her hair done at Bardot across the street when someone rushed into the salon asking if anyone knew CPR. Jones is certified through Fitness Unlimited in Washington, where she teaches yoga.

“The hardest part was getting him out of the car. He was a large man and was completely unresponsive,” Jones said.

Though the accident was minor, the unidentified man in the vehicle had no pulse when Jones, Vidant Beaufort Hospital ER nurse Helen Brinn and Sydney Spencer, a nurse at Vidant Medical Center, began CPR. Another man, Julius Oden, also arrived on the scene to help.

“It was an absolute team effort. They were checking for a pulse, for breath, and we were trading off doing compressions because it is a workout,” Jones said.

When law enforcement arrived, the women continued CPR through three defibrillations before paramedics took over.

“We coded the person,” Bissette said. “We got a pulse back and transported him to the hospital with a pulse and him trying to breathe on his own.”

Bissette said the basic-level skills of chest compressions gave paramedics the opening to save the man’s life. According to redcross.org, every minute that defibrillation has not occurred (during a cardiac arrest) decreases survivability by approximately 10 percent. Bissette said the incident is a prime example of how the average citizen can perform lifesaving measures — just last week, paramedics responded to a cardiac arrest where CPR was already in progress by diners at the downtown restaurant Down on Mainstreet.

“We do want our community involved, and we do want these people to know that if you are downtown, or at Wal-Mart, it’s OK to do compressions if it’s called for,” Bissette said. “If it was me, I would want them to do compressions on me.”

For Jones, the incident has elements of divine intervention, based on what happened earlier in the day.

“I never ever watch the news, but this morning I turned on the ‘Today’ show and they were doing a special on (CPR). I said, ‘You know, I’m going to watch this whole thing,’ because it won’t hurt to learn something,” Jones said. “I basically had a refresher course this morning with Matt Lauer.”

The importance of acting quickly and doing chest compressions fresh in her mind, she simply acted.

“I wasn’t nervous. I didn’t panic — I’d just seen it on TV,” she said.

It all happened on the sidewalk in front of the Turnage Theatre as bystanders looked on. The man was later transported to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville.

Bissette said he hopes the four people who administered CPR will be recognized for their lifesaving efforts.

After telling her children, Davis and Liv, about the incident, Jones said they asked her to show them how to do CPR.

“You are never too young or too old to learn lifesaving techniques,” Jones said. “With a little bit of training you can save someone’s life.”

Bissette is actively looking to identify the labor and delivery nurse who assisted.

This story has been updated to reflect the name of the third woman, Sydney Spencer, who performed CPR. She previously had been unidentified.