Lawrence dad seeks man who saved his son

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- A Lawrence father is looking to learn the identity of the man who helped save his teenage son.

Ryan Smith, 18, suffered a heart attack while at a local handball court in December. His best friend proceeded to call 9-1-1.

A man apparently saw the incident transpire and rushed over to perform CPR on Smith before three EMTs arrived.

Medical workers say the mystery man’s CPR efforts likely saved Ryan’s life and prevented the teen from suffering brain damage.

“If it wouldn’t have been for that person and the police officers and the people from the ambulance, then he would have had brain damage,” said Smith's father, Nelson Arroyo.

Now, both Smith and his father want thank this Good Samaritan.

"He just came, did what he did and disappeared. Whoever he was, he saved my life. Thank you for that," said Smith.

EMTs needed a defibrillator to start Smith’s heart.

“I’m happy this kid was able to make it through because of these two people before us, and we just showed up and did our job. That’s all we did,” said Chris Leavitt, an EMT with Patriot Ambulance.

Smith is calling the EMTs that responded heroes. The three will be honored in Lawrence next week as the EMTS of the year.

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