Hero Elgin shop manager saved life of man found with ‘blue lips’ in crashed car

RNLI volunteer James Granitza ran to get a defibrillator and helped administer a shock that saved the passenger's life.

By Graham Fleming

July 30 2024, 2:50 pm

James Granitza has been praised by the RNLI after his heroics. Image: RNLI

A hero Elgin shop manager saved the life of a man found in a crashed car.

James Granitza, 47, rushed to the aid of a driver who crashed outside of his shop on Thornhill Road last week.

Buckie RNLI volunteer James ran out from his workplace, The Floor Studio, after being alerted to a crash outside.

The crash occurred outside The Floor Studio in Elgin. Image: Google Maps

He found one of the passengers with pale skin and blue lips and shouted at two bystanders to pull the man outside of the car.

Thankfully, the bystanders were nurses and able to begin CPR while James ran to get a Public Accessible Defibrillator (PAD) mounted at a nearby shop.

James and the nurses were able to administer a shock which helped save the man’s life.

Impressively, the man was soon up and talking again soon after.

Defibrillator was donated by Keiran’s Legacy

The defibrillator was donated by Keiran’s Legacy, an Elgin charity that provides lifesaving equipment to communities in memory of 16-year-old Keiran McKandie.

The teen cyclist tragically died at the scene of a car crash in 2016; the nearest ambulance took 30 minutes to reach him and the first police vehicle to arrive had no life-saving equipment.

Speaking after the incident, James said “he just knew what to do” in that situation.

James said “Having been a cardiac responder for the Scottish Ambulance Service for the past seven years meant that reacting to the accident was like second nature, I just didn’t have to think about it, I just knew what to do.

Buckie lifeboat called to help burning fishing boat in the Moray Firth. — James volunteers at Buckie’s RNLI station, Image: Buckie RNLI

“In all the years I have been volunteering for the coastguards, RNLI and wildcats I have never seen such an amazing outcome from something that could have so easily been a tragic loss of life.

“The man was up and about and talking to his family on the phone only minutes after his cardiac arrest, just incredible.”