Mike Wolanin | The Republic Cheri Hart, in red, poses for a photo Columbus Regional Health paramedic Connor Bridges, right, and Columbus Regional Health EMS Chief Neti Redelman, left, at the Evolution Training Center in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Feb. 6 2026. Bridges received an Indiana Department of Homeland Security Cardiac Arrest Save Commendation for saving Hart’s life.
Cheri Hart walks into a room joking, vivacious and full of life, but there were a few minutes in October when that wasn’t the case, although it’s hard to believe seeing her on Friday.
Hart suffered cardiac arrest and her heart stopped beating for between five and 10 minutes on Oct. 29. Thanks to the efforts of first responders, she ended up walking out of the hospital three days after being admitted— fully recovered and completely neurologically intact.
That result is a rare, medical marvel, local officials say, and something first responders said is a testament to community teamwork at its finest.
Hart wanted to personally say “thank you” to the “heroes” involved in her care and recovery — Columbus Regional Health EMS, dispatch, Columbus police, Columbus firefighters— and she had the opportunity to do so in an emotional gathering Friday at The Evolution Center, right where first responders train to be ready for such incidents.
Those involved in her care came up one by one to receive an official recognition from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, exchanging often-times tearful embraces with Hart, while her family looked on.
“There were a lot of people involved in saving your life,” Neti Redelman, CRH EMS chief, said in the filled room.
Hart was driving to her daughter Lori Goode’s house on Oct. 29 to see her grandchildren when she went into cardiac arrest, becoming unconscious and crashing into a tree.
CPD Sgt. Courtney Plummer, Officer Aaron Graham and Officer Brian Voyles arrived on the scene, broke out the window of the locked car and began immediate chest compressions, something that ended up being instrumental in Hart’s recovery.
CRH EMS arrived in just a few minutes, kept Hart breathing through CPR and used a defibrillator to get her heart beating again.
CRH EMS Paramedic Connor Bridges said the two most crucial elements in responding to a similar situation are early chest compressions— in this case done by CPD— and then an early defibrillation. Born and raised in Columbus and a paramedic for just under four years, Bridges said the scene Friday was heartwarming and emphasized the teamwork of all the different agencies involved in the response.
“The awards are not really not why I do this,” Bridges said. “Her sitting over there, being able to spend time with her family— that’s why we do it.”
During the early chest compressions, nine of Hart’s ribs were broken. Her children jokingly described how she was in the hospital, asking regarding her ribs: “Who did this to me?”
Well that ‘who’ was Plummer, which Hart got a kick out of, calling the Plummer “small but mighty.”
Goode said seeing the faces of those who saved her mother caused an overwhelming sense of gratitude, especially after her daughter Bria Scott died in July at the age of 34 while on a mission trip in Kenya.
“I feel like our daughter just said, ‘No, not today, we’re sending this one back,’” Goode said. “I just remember getting on the scene and I saw them putting her on a stretcher and I just thought, ‘I can’t do this again.’ And I’m just so thankful that we don’t have to.”
Goode also noted the care first responders have taken to personally follow up to see how her mother was doing.
“It’s just a sense of gratitude. You get to put faces to what you heard happened and see how they all worked together so beautifully to basically save her,” Goode said. “She shouldn’t be here, and we’re just so thankful she is.”
First responders who were recognized Friday include:
- Columbus Regional Hospital EMS Paramedics Tiffany Leicht and Connor Bridges
- Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center Dispatchers Angie Lee and Michael Gorbett
- CPD Sgt. Courtney Plummer, Officer Aaron Graham and Officer Brian Voyles
- CFD Lieutenants Chris Tuttle and Jeff Brown
- CFD Firefighters Patrick Volland, Drew Vehslage, Ethan Yaley and Kyle Whipker
