A man from Campbellton is alive today thanks to four knowledgeable citizens who rushed to his rescue.

In October, Levi Sooley, 76, was leaving a strip mall in Gander with his wife Edna, when he had a heart attack in his car in the mall's parking lot.

Luckily, some good samaritans were nearby who knew CPR, including nurse Diane Hart and Sgt. Christine King from Canadian Forces Base Gander.

Sgt. Christine King from Canadian Forces Base Gander was one of four good samaritans who helped Levi Sooley when he had a heart attack. (CBC)

King said she heard that a man was slumped over his steering wheel, so she went to help him.

"I remember screaming, 'Levi, hang on, hang on!' I heard the ambulance, and I kept stroking his hair, stroking his head, and trying to comfort him," she said.

King said it was fortunate for Sooley to have so many skilled strangers nearby.

"So between the four of us, he had as good a chance as any," she said.

"You figure he had myself, a nurse, and a firefighter on the scene with him, so I guess the odds were with him that day. It was quite overwelming that you did something and maybe prolonged this gentelman's life with his family."

"I'm so glad they were there at the time, because, I mean, I don't want to lose him yet," said Levi's wife Edna.

Levi Sooley said he knows just how lucky he is.

"If they weren't there, I would have died, just as simple as that, no ifs and buts at all," he said.

"Those people were exceptional, and they were in the right place at the right time."

Sooley can't say enough about his rescuers.

"I'd like to thank them for saving my life. I can't express it in any other words than to just thank them and may the good Lord look out after them."