Man's life saved by stranger

"A very kind man was surrounded by angels and brought back to life; it was a holiday miracle."

That is how Shirley Dobbins of Sherman Oaks describes her younger brother, Greg Bowman's, heart attack and its aftermath while he was driving in Westlake Village on Thanksgiving Day.

Bowman, 51, had just enjoyed a Thanksgiving lunch with his family in Sherman Oaks and was driving with his girlfriend, Amy Buxbaum, and her parents, Betty and Michael, to Amy's brother's Westlake Village home for another Thanksgiving celebration.

"Earlier in the day, Greg had complained of what he thought was indigestion and said he felt tired," Amy Buxbaum said.

On their way, the foursome exited the freeway to drop a few things off at Amy's sister's Westlake Village home. About a block away from their destination, Bowman slowly turned a corner before he passed out, jumped the curb and hit a signpost.

Michael Buxbaum, 82, took over the steering wheel and safely brought his daughter's Lexus to a stop. Then he dialed 911. According to Amy, he had trouble getting through to the dispatcher for emergency aid.

Betty Buxbaum, 83, who had taken CPR training many years before, tried to resuscitate Bowman by giving him mouthtomouth while he was sitting in the driver's seat.

At that moment, Thousand Oaks resident Jeff Carlson, a good Samaritan, was passing by with his wife, Lynn, and teenage children, Chase and Christie, as they were making their way to their family Thanksgiving dinner at Carlson's mother's house in Newbury Park.

"When I saw the white Lexus up on the green, in the wrong spot, with people outside the car, I knew someone was in trouble and we had to stop and help," said Carlson.

So, he made a U-turn, parked his car and hurried to the scene, where he found a man slumped down and heard someone say, "He's gone."

"There was no pulse, no breath," said Carlson.

The 40yearold business executive, who was recovering from a torn rotator cuff injury, pulled the large man out of the car so he could assist in giving Bowman CPR.

He ignored the excruciating pain to his shoulder as he tried his best to get Bowman's heart beating again by applying CPR for what seemed like forever, but was probably around seven minutes, Carlson said.

While he worked on Bowman's heart, Betty Buxbaum continued putting her breath into Bowman's lungs, Amy said.

When the paramedics arrived and took over, they determined Bowman's heart was not beating. "His heart was flat-lining. He had died," Amy said. "They put the paddles to his heart, shocked him and got it beating again."

Bowman was taken to Los Robles Hospital, where angioplasty was used to open an artery that was 100 percent blocked, his sister Terry Bowman Teague of Simi Valley said. For the first two days it was unknown whether he would regain consciousness, and if he did, whether he would suffer brain damage, she said.

On Saturday, Bowman became aware of his surroundings, was joking with his sister and was acting like his old self again, Teague said.

Bowman remains in critical but stable condition, his sister Dobbins said. The big concern now is the fluid that entered his lungs while he was technically dead, she said.

"I went by the place where the accident happened, and I realized how blessed he was for it to happen right where it did-not on the freeway, or they all could've been killed, or he could've crashed into a house or other people," Dobbins said.

She was glad to know that her brother had taken out catastrophic health coverage not long before his heart attack, she said.

"That will help him with the bills," she said.

"I'm so glad Jeff Carlson was in the right place at the right time," said Teague. "Without his help my brother would have died."

She also said the doctors have told her the CPR given at the scene prevented her brother from suffering brain damage.

Carlson said he never hesitated about stopping to help and is very happy with his decision even though he further injured his shoulder, now in a sling.

"My shoulder pain doesn't matter. I'm elated to know he has made it," Carlson said. "His sister called me, and I hope to meet them."

Meanwhile, Carlson's son has honored him by posting his father's heroics on his myspace.com page, Carlson said.

"That's a great compliment," he said.

His mother has also forgiven him for being late to their family dinner.

"When my wife first called my mom from the scene to let her know we were going to be late, she said, 'I just took the turkey out of the oven.' But when she heard the reason why, she agreed that was more important," Carlson said.