Dr. Singh, a longtime veterinarian at Sisk Veterinary Hospital in Salida, was driving near Sisk Road and the State Route 99 off-ramp on January 16, 2024, when his heart stopped. He collapsed after what officials describe as a minor traffic collision, and strangers on the roadside began performing CPR before a California Highway Patrol officer arrived and took over compressions himself.
The California Highway Patrol’s Modesto office publicly detailed the rescue this week, more than two and a half years after it happened, revealing for the first time that the motorist saved that day was Dr. Singh. According to the California Highway Patrol, Officer Fowles was patrolling near the off-ramp when he encountered the collision and found Good Samaritans already performing CPR on a man lying on the ground. Fowles took over chest compressions, and the man regained consciousness before firefighters and paramedics transported him to a local hospital.
A Veterinarian Known Throughout Salida
Dr. Singh works as a veterinarian at Sisk Veterinary Hospital, a daytime practice at 4566 Salida Boulevard that serves pet owners across Stanislaus County and the surrounding Central Valley, per the clinic’s own description of its services. The hospital sits close to where the emergency unfolded, since Salida Boulevard runs parallel to Sisk Road near State Route 99, according to background compiled from local roadway history. Following the roadside intervention, Dr. Singh underwent triple bypass surgery and made a full recovery, the CHP said, and he was later reunited with Officer Fowles.
Salida itself is an unincorporated community in northern Stanislaus County, with a 2020 census population of 13,886, sitting directly north of Modesto along State Route 99, according to Stanislaus County. The community was originally established as a railroad siding in 1870 and takes its name from the Spanish word for exit, the county notes. Local fire protection and first-responder medical services in the area are handled by the Salida Fire Protection District, working alongside Stanislaus County emergency medical services, which is consistent with the fire crews and paramedics who took over Dr. Singh’s care from Officer Fowles that day.
Why Minutes of CPR Matter So Much
The stretch of roadway where the collision happened is no quiet backstreet. State Route 99 through Stanislaus County functions as the primary north-south freeway linking Modesto, Salida, Ceres, and Turlock, carrying heavy commuter and freight traffic through the Central Valley, according to the California Department of Transportation. CHP officers patrol its off-ramps and connecting arterials, like Sisk Road, as part of routine coverage, which put Officer Fowles close enough to respond within minutes…