Newport Propane team saves a life during Propane Expo in Nashville

In Nashville, Tennessee, propane industry eyes focus on trade show floor exhibits during the day and Broadway Avenue attractions at night. There’s plenty to see at the Southeastern & International Propane Expo.

But Donnie Pelletier, Peter Sherman and their Newport Propane colleagues saw something unexpected while in town for the show this year. They saw a young man dying on the street.

The group had gathered at Morgan Wallen’s bar in downtown Nashville when Tom Watson noticed the man lying on the street, struggling to breathe in what appeared to be a drug overdose. They recall people walking past, not realizing what was happening or choosing to look the other way.

But for Pelletier and the contingent from Newport Propane, including Rick Francis, instinct kicked in. They rushed to the man, who had a cigarette stuck to the side of his face. He was staring blankly, and his lips were turning blue.

Pelletier gave him a sternum rub, trying to snap him out of the overdose, to no avail.

“He didn’t flinch and didn’t have a pulse,” Pelletier recalls. “Right away, I started chest compressions.”

Pelletier maintained the compressions for 15 minutes, overcoming the excruciating sense of crushing the man’s ribs. Pelletier’s own breathing picked up as he realized the energy he was expending, but he knew he had to keep the man’s heart pumping and the blood flowing through his body.

Meanwhile, Sherman was checking the man’s pulse and calling 911 as a crowd gathered around them.

Paramedics arrived and took over, giving the man overdose medication Narcan and placing him on their medical “gator.”

“I said to Pete, ‘We lost him.’ When they took him away, it didn’t look good,” Pelletier says.

But the man had survived. Knowing that, a wave of emotions swept over Pelletier, who received praise for his quick reaction.

“Just to look at the guy’s face and get him back,” Pelletier says. “The guy was homeless, but regardless, he is still someone’s kid or brother. You gotta help him.”

The next day, Pelletier and Sherman returned to the scene to find the man back in his spot, sitting up on the street. They told him to use the experience to better himself and get his life back on track.

“Do you realize I saved your life last night?” Pelletier asked the man, who thanked him.

“I want you to do me a favor,” Pelletier told him. “Call home, call your mom. Somebody’s missing you somewhere.”

“If he would have died, no one would have known where he was,” Pelletier adds.

They wonder whether the man will remain on the street next April when the Propane Expo returns to Nashville. They hope he’ll be long gone, on a path to a better life.

In talking to Pelletier and Sherman, you realize these are good guys who want to do what’s best for those around them. They even tell the story of how Sherman came to the aid of someone who was choking last year.

And that’s not all. Our Spotlight on Newport Propane reveals more good work by the company’s leaders.

The Propane Expo proved to be a success this year with record-breaking attendance. Turns out, it was also successful in matters of life and death.

“We go home, and you feel like you made a difference in somebody’s life,” Pelletier says. “That was special.”

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