BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
EDISON — A 16-year veteran of the Edison Police Department is being credited with saving the life of newborn baby girl who he found blue and unresponsive at her family’s North Edison townhouse, according to Police Chief Thomas Bryan.
Officer Brian Freund was first to arrive at the home on Rivendell Way just after 8:35 p.m. on Oct. 19, according to police.
He found the baby girl’s father, Babu Gundimada, crouched on the floor over his then 6-day-old daughter, attempting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), police said.
Freund, who has been with the department since 2000, took over CPR and did gentle chest compressions until the infant began coughing and crying, indications she was getting air into her lungs, police said.
“Saving this newborn’s life is an absolute credit to Officer Freund,” said Bryan. “It also demonstrates that every dollar we invest in officer-training and the emphasis we place on preparedness and professionalism is time and money well spent.”
An Edison Fire Rescue crew and emergency medical technicians from JFK Medical Center transported the infant to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for further treatment.