Witnesses say life-saving device not available at training center

MACOMB TWP. (WXYZ) - Those who responded first when a Wayne State football player collapsed while training are asking if more could’ve been done to save the athlete’s life.

Serxho Guraleci was working out at the Premier Training Center in Macomb Township Monday morning. After lifting weights, he continued to do a running exercise. Guraleci bent down during the exercise and collapsed.

“I looked over there and saw that one of them was down,” said Jeffrey Longo. Longo is a police officer who was off-duty when Guraleci collapsed. He ran over to assist another witness, who happened to be a nurse.

“When one of the owners came over, I asked if there was an AED, and he said no,” said Longo. By law, health clubs are required to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) on site.

Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham confirms at least two AEDs were available during the incident, but those were brought by fire and paramedic response teams.

“They got there as fast as they could, and they put the AED on as fast as they could,” said Longo. “But when something like this happens, every minute counts. Instead of the AED being on in two minutes, it was 7-8 minutes.”

Action News reached out to the training center for comment. An employee said he would pass our messages on to a manager, but we have yet to hear back from them.

The Macomb County medical examiner’s office is performing an autopsy. It could take several weeks for forensics test results to be returned.

In the meantime, the family is hoping to bury Guraleci’s body where he grew up. The family moved from Greece to Sterling Heights when Guraleci was a teenager. They’re accepting donations to make an overseas burial possible. Donations can be made by visiting https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/2QE6d .

Visitation services will be held from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday and 1 p.m.-9 p.m. Thursday at the Mandziuk & Son Funeral Home in Sterling Heights. The funeral is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Friday at the St. Paul Albanian Catholic Church in Rochester.