Simone Kelly was off duty and in the crowd at the New York Knicks celebration parade in Lower Manhattan on June 18 when she climbed a subway platform at the World Trade Center to revive a man who had stopped responding.
Kelly, a 24-year-old volunteer EMT with the South Orange Rescue Squad in New Jersey and a pre-med student at Drew University, used Narcan to bring the man back. The moment was captured on video and seen by millions. She was joined by another anonymous healthcare worker and several bystanders who helped.
Kelly told Healthline the scene was disorganized at first. "It was a bit chaotic — people in the crowd were just throwing things they thought might help," she said. "A bottle of water came up, and we poured that on him, hoping he's just overheating from hyperthermia. Then someone tossed up Narcan, and I was glad there was someone else in the crowd who was gauging what this could be. At that point, there is no harm in administering Narcan, so that is what we did."
She typically keeps intranasal naloxone attached to her keys. That day, she left it at home. "It's on my keys. It's very bulky, and my keys have broken numerous times, not necessarily from the Narcan. But that day I did not have it," Kelly said. "I remember standing in my kitchen with my keys in one hand and the Narcan in the other, like I don't have pockets, I can't bring a bag. I've always brought it, but never had to use it on the street."
Kelly is studying neuroscience with a minor in psychology and chemistry. She says her goal is to work in emergency psychiatry and addiction medicine. She described what draws her to that work: "On the ambulance, I find a certain type of compassion and empathy toward those patients that — from my experience out in the world — not everyone has, so it is my belief that if you have the patience and the bandwidth to work with people who need help in that way, you should 100% go into it."
She added that she has been focused on advocacy as well. "So I've really been dedicating a lot of my time to uplifting those communities and empowering those voices."
That commitment was already visible before the parade. Kelly is an advocate for OnPoint NYC, an organization that provides people who use drugs with clean syringes, overdose prevention services, and nonjudgmental health care. Since the rescue went viral, she has helped raise nearly $8,000 for the organization.
Days after the incident, she received the first-ever New York City Health Commissioner's Award for Lifesaving Action.
Naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan, is a medication that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. It is available without a prescription in many states and can be administered nasally without medical training. Public health officials have encouraged people to carry it in the same way many carry a first aid kit.
Kelly's message since the rescue has been straightforward. The title of the Healthline interview with her captures it: don't be a bystander.
