By Alexis Tarrazi
Senior Reporter

LYNDHURST (June 26, 2009, 1:20 p.m.) — Two Lyndhurst police officers revived a 56-year-old Wood-Ridge jogger who was found lying face down on Orient Way yesterday, June 25, at approximately 8:30 p.m. He dropped to the pavement on Orient Way near Third Street.

Lyndhurst police officers Anthony Ricigliano and Thomas McSweeney were first on the scene and found the jogger, who was reportedly not breathing and had no pulse.

The man, whose name was withheld by the authorities, also had injuries to his knees and face, which were consistent with falling face down on the pavement, according to Detective Capt. John Valente.

The officers immediately began CPR and used the defibrillator. They were able to resuscitate the man and he was breathing as he was transported to Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville.

Valente noted the jogger did not have any identification on him and a call was made to surrounding borough police departments in an attempt to determine his identity.

Rutherford police reported early this morning, June 26, that a woman came in reporting her husband was missing. It was later determined she was the wife of the jogger, Valente said.

The wife reported that her husband had apparently suffered a heart attack and was now in stable condition. “I thought they did a great job,” Valente said of the officers’ actions. “Basically they saved his life. … He’s a lucky man.”