BOISE — An Idaho cyclist is alive and back on his bike because two Idaho Power employees saved his life while they were out on the job.
Tracey Leasey and Jess Powell were recognized Tuesday with a safety award for their heroic efforts.
In July, Mike Penrose of the Wood River Valley was out riding his bike on a bike path south of Sun Valley when he suddenly collapsed and crashed his bike.
Leasey and Powell were working nearby at a job site and found Penrose laying in weeds, not breathing and without a pulse.
They rushed to perform CPR on him and called 911.
"Some people might call it fate, some people might call it destiny, but I call it a big thank you,” said Penrose. “Thank you for being able to have 30 years with my bride, see my daughter graduate from college in May, my son play soccer and graduate from high school in 2020, and being able to open the door and come back to my family, my friends."
EMTs took Penrose to St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center in Ketchum. He was then flown to Saint Alphonsus in Boise.
Penrose says his cardiologist later told him the reason for his sudden collapse, he had a 98 percent blockage in one of his arteries.
Penrose tells us if Leasey and Powell hadn't been there to help him, he would've died.