The man had no heartbeat and wasn't breathing.
But for the efforts of an off-duty nurse and a Hastings police officer, whose vehicle just two days before had been fitted with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), he likely would have died.
Rural Community Constable Senior Constable Brad Clark was on duty in Havelock North earlier this month when he heard a report of a sudden death come through on the radio, followed by the local fire station sirens going off.
"I was close by when the report came in and thought if the local fire siren is going this person could still be alive, so I shot around the corner to see if I could help," he said.
An off-duty nurse was performing CPR on the man, who Clark said was not breathing and had no heartbeat.