NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — An off-duty Florida police officer on vacation in Nashville helped save a woman's life after a car slammed into pedestrians on Broadway on Aug. 1.
Officer Chase Thompson, of the Boynton Beach, Florida Police Department, was walking down Broadway with his fiancée when a white sedan plowed into pedestrians near Fourth Avenue. One of those victims, Dianne Cooper, fell right in front of him.
"She wasn't breathing. She was unconscious. She had a very faint pulse at that point," Thompson said.
With no badge, no uniform and no time to think, Thompson dropped to the ground and started CPR.
"I just knew that somebody needed help, and I had the training; luckily I was there at the right time. I had the training to be able to help Mrs. Cooper," Thompson said.
Thompson says he wasn't the only stranger who rushed toward the victims that day, but for Cooper's family, those first moments proved critical.
"I mean, it was just relying on the training. There wasn't really much going through my mind," Thompson said.
Days later, Cooper's husband called Thompson with an update: she was getting better.
"It meant everything. Like I said, usually you don't hear after the fact of a critical incident. So the fact that he followed up — her husband followed up Mr. Cooper and gave me a status on how she's doing and all that. It meant a lot," Thompson said.
Cooper's family had known someone stopped to help her that afternoon — they just didn't know who. Now they do, and they say Thompson's actions in those critical moments helped save her life.
"I don't know who y'all are, but whoever you are that was there to render her aid and give her CPR, I want you to know the family thanks y'all from the bottom of their heart," a family member said.
Cooper's husband calls Thompson a hero. Thompson doesn't see it that way.
"I mean, I wouldn't say hero. I would say, you know, just I was happy I was able to help, you know," Thompson said.
For Thompson, the outcome of this call stands apart from most.
"A lot of the time we go to these calls and we help people, but that's the end of it. We don't really hear anything. We don't get calls from people's husbands. So it was nice," Thompson said.
This story was reported on-air by journalist Kelsey Gibbs and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Kelsey Gibbs brings us a powerful story of humanity, compassion, and love in action while showing us the hard and lifesaving work our officers do daily. Nashville is lucky to have people like Lt. Hotz wearing the badge.
- Carrie Sharp
