Doug Butler was driving at 110 kph on the Hume Highway at Wodonga, on the New South Wales-Victoria border, when he went into cardiac arrest.
"I really don't remember anything," Mr Butler said.
"I was coming in from the family farm at Gundowring, bringing Chais to work. We stopped to get our morning iced coffee like we normally do … and then from there I really don't remember," he said.
Chais was sitting in the passenger seat and sprang to action.
"I didn't really know what to do. I think I sort of just kicked into autopilot," he said.
"I thought I'd lost him. I just thought my dad's dead. That's all that was going through my head," Chais said.
The 22-year-old didn't have his licence but reached over, put his foot on the brakes and managed to pull the car off to the side of the road safely before calling triple-0.
Good Samaritan
Chais did not have any first aid qualifications, but after getting his dad out of the car he remembered something he was taught during a year 10 health class that helped him perform CPR — ultimately saving his dad's life.
"They told us to go to the beat of the Bee Gees' Staying Alive, so I just remembered that and started doing it," Chais said.
Kevin Williams was driving past at the time and pulled over to help until emergency services arrived.
He had done a CPR course, and said this was the first time he had put his training into action.
"[Doug] was dead. There was no pulse, no breathing. Every time I stopped to try and check, [there was] nothing," he said.
"I remember 4 or 5 minutes into it he still wasn't breathing and I said: 'Not on my watch, you're not dying', and I pushed a little bit harder.
"That's when I broke his ribs. But they told me if you break ribs you're doing it right."
Another bystander who stopped to help was Leanne Wegener who works for the local health department.
"Chais was there begging for his dad to come back. So that's what we did," she said.
Importance of training
About 20,000 Australians have a cardiac arrest outside a hospital every year and research shows just one in 10 will survive.
Ms Wegener knows all too well of the devastation after losing her husband and a brother to cardiac arrest.
"He's a unicorn," she said.
"It's not just about survival. It's rare that you can actually function in the community as you were before."
Both Chais and Doug now plan to get their first aid qualifications.
Ambulance Victoria area manager Matt Chadban said it was something he would recommend everyone in the community do, particularly those living in regional areas.
"If someone is in cardiac arrest, they're not going to get better by themselves. They just don't spontaneously recover," he said.
"The only way they can have a chance of improving or surviving is if people put their hand up and have a go.
"Every little bit of assistance within the community and education really counts."
Reunited
Being reunited with those responsible for saving his life was an emotional moment for Mr Butler.
"I can't thank them enough. I wouldn't be here otherwise," he said.
"I'm just in awe of all those people and my son.
"Chais in my eyes is a hero.
"If he hadn't been able to pull the car [over], God knows where I could have ended up, who else I could have injured."
Mr Butler said it had given him a new lease on life.
"You've got to get out and enjoy life. I'm a hard worker, always have been but I know now I'm starting to take it a little bit easier and enjoy it a bit more," he said.
Chais echoed his father's gratitude for those who stopped to help.
"[I'm] happy he's here. I'm happy I didn't have to bury him," he said.
