Nursing Student Channels the Bee Gees to Save a Life
- Andrea Elia, a third-semester nursing student, stops at the scene of a motorcycle accident to aid the driver.
- Stayin' Alive, by the Bee Gees, is the perfect tempo for performing CPR at a rate of 100-120 beats per minute.
- Off-duty nurses came to assist after Elia was on scene.
Image source: Syracuse.com
Songs like Stayin’ Alive, Can’t Stop the Feeling, Shake it Off, Roar, and Baby Shark Dance all have one thing in common - the tempo is perfect for performing CPR at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute. Most nursing students have their favorite song they learn CPR to, and it sticks with them throughout their career. If they are lucky, they will never have to sing it to themselves while performing CPR, but that wasn’t the case for Bryant & Stratton College nursing student Andrea Elia, 41.
On October 17th, 2025, third-semester nursing student Elia was leaving class and saw a Kawasaki motorcycle speed by and slam into the side of a BMW that was leaving the Splash Car Wash Express near Clay, NY.
“I looked left, saw the motorcycle, followed it with my eyes,” Elia said. “And then — boom — he hit a car. I saw his body go flying.”
Michael J. Rubino, 30, the driver of the motorcycle, flew into the air and was lying unconscious on the side of the road. Elia immediately ran to Rubino, and her training kicked in. She ensured the scene was safe and checked for a pulse and breathing. Rubino had neither.
A state trooper was in the area, and with permission, Elia performed CPR on Rubino in the middle of a busy highway. Elia continued to perform life-saving CPR by herself until additional help arrived.
“I was singing ‘Stayin’ Alive’ in my head to keep the rhythm,” she said. “I didn’t know if I was strong enough. I’d just left class and I hadn’t eaten. But I knew this man’s life was in my hands.”
Elia is CPR certified and has practiced hundreds of times throughout her nursing program, but only on mannequins. Never on a real patient. While Elia is not 100% sure how long she performed CPR independently, she believes it was close to five minutes when a passerby offered to help and they switched off.
Before long, several off-duty nurses and other civilians trained in CPR stopped to assist. The make-shift code team continued to perform high-quality CPR, which unfortunately led to cracking one of Rubino’s ribs, removed his helmet, utilized an Ambu bag, and treated his wounds.
After several minutes, Elia saw Rubino’s chest move, and he moaned.
“I knew in that moment we got him back,” she said.
Rubino was taken to a local hospital, and Elia was met with hugs from several of her classmates who had stopped to see the incident. In the aftermath, she is continuing to process what happened on the side of Route 57 in Clay.
In a twist of irony, Elia, a former bank teller, decided to switch careers after losing several family members in motor vehicle accidents. Helping Rubino validated her reasons for switching careers.
“I’ve been sitting in these feelings all weekend,” she said. “My cousin never got a second chance. If I can give Michael and his family more time, I’ve done my job.”
Elia is now considering a career in trauma or emergency nursing after the incident.
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