Starbucks workers in Collier County help save drive-thru customer who stopped breathing

A group of Collier County Starbucks workers and a customer stepped in to help a man who was having a medical emergency.

The man was in his car in the drive-thru of the coffee shop on Radio Road on Tuesday when he had a seizure and stopped breathing.

An afternoon cup of coffee turned into a life-or-death situation for fellow customer Giuliano D’Urso of Naples.

“This guy was purple. He didn’t breathe. He needed help soon,” he recalled.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office says they received a call for help at around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday from the Starbucks.

“One gentleman over here is a retired fireman. He says, ‘I think he’s dead,'” said witness Elio D’Angelo of Naples.

But D’Urso happened to be sitting in the store – in the right place, at the right time – to help.

“We put him on the ground, and another girl started CPR,” D’Urso said.

“They both started pumping his chest but he wasn’t moving,” D’Angelo said.

While many others assisted, D’Urso says it was the Starbucks workers who saved the man’s life.

“She acted really good, like it was her child on the ground. The guy was purple purple purple, but she didn’t stop for a second.”

They were much more than baristas on Tuesday.

“I call them angels,” D’Urso said.

The witnesses say that by the end of the scary situation, the man was breathing on his own and talking. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance.