Officer Nathan Tompkins saved a heroin overdose victim at the intersection of Whitehorse Avenue and Arena Drive last August.
FLORENCE -- An off-duty township police officer who saved an heroin overdose victim in Hamilton last year was honored with a meritorious award recently from the 200 Club of Burlington County.
Officer Nathan Tompkins was driving through Hamilton on Aug. 19 last year with his wife and kids in his car when he saw a pickup truck roll through the intersection of Whitehorse Avenue and Arena Drive.
The driver was slumped behind the wheel, so Tompkins jumped out of his vehicle and chased after the truck on foot, Florence police said in a Facebook post.
Once he caught the truck he opened the driver's door and was able to stop it by stomping on the brake.
A Hamilton police officer was in the area and also stopped and both officers performed first aid on the driver, who had overdoes on heroin.
Tompkins administered a dose of Narcan to the driver, Florence police said.
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The driver regained consciousnesses on scene and was later taken to an area hospital, where he recovered, Florence police said.
The incident was recorded on the Hamilton officer's in-car camera.
Tomplkins was honored for saving the man's life, and preventing injury to others, Florence police said.
The nonprofit 200 Club of Burlington County supports the families of fallen or injured first responders through higher education scholarships and special recognition awards.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.