By Nik Beimler
Portsmouth Herald
EPPING, N.H. — After suffering serious injuries while saving another person’s life, State Trooper Chris Prenaveau had a lot of people to thank — the staff at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, where he was treated, the state troopers and his wife, Candaliza.
But it was a skill taught to him by his 11-year-old son Charlie that might have saved his life.
"(He’s) into parkour,” Prenaveau said, explaining that Parkour is a training discipline using movement that developed from military obstacle course training. “He’s the one who taught me how to jump up over a vehicle. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it over the vehicle.”
On Saturday, Prenaveau pushed a man out of the way of an oncoming car before being struck himself in Madbury. Despite the injury, on Monday he was in good spirits and continuing to recover.
Looking back on Saturday’s incident, Prenaveau said he saw no other option but to save the man’s life.
“We were either both going to get hit or one of us get hit,” he said. “So there really wasn’t much of a choice.”
Prenaveau had responded to a single-vehicle crash on French Cross Road. The driver, Keith Correll, 21, of Barrington was discussing the crash with Prenaveau when another vehicle, driven by Anne Golding, 36, of Barrington, lost control on the icy road and slid toward the trooper and Correll.
Prenaveau pushed Correll out of the way before jumping in the air as Golding’s vehicle struck him. He landed on the hood of the car before being thrown into the roadway, police said on Saturday.
The trooper also thanked his daughters, Lauren, 5, and Catiana, 13, who are both avid gymnasts.
“They’re the ones who taught me to swing like a monkey, I guess,” Prenaveau said, “and that’s pretty much what happened that day.”
Given the nature of the accident, the trooper’s injuries are fairly minor. He suffered some cuts to his face and said his back is sore, but there were no broken bones or major injuries.
“Just a little banged up,” Prenaveau said. “Just a little sore in the back, a little sore in the facial area. Still picking some glass out of my face, but other than that, pretty good for what happened that day. I think everybody was lucky that day.”
The 10-year veteran of the state police said he has not had contact with Correll, but the man’s mother did visit Prenaveau in the hospital.
“That was not necessary,” he said. “That’s why we’re here.”
This is the second time in just a few months that Prenaveau has been recognized for helping to save a life. In November, he performed CPR on a man who collapsed and stopped breathing in the Epping Walmart. Prenaveau was off-duty at the time.
When asked about developing a reputation as a “Superman,” the trooper shook the compliment off as an exaggeration.
“I wouldn’t say that,” he said. “Just being in the right place at the right time and having the right training through the state police, and with the division supporting me as much as they do and giving me the tools to do my job the way I was taught to do it.”
Commander Christopher Vetter commended Prenaveau for his actions.
“Now you know what we know,” Vetter said, “which is that Chris is an exceptional trooper.”
Gov. Chris Sununu took to Twitter to thank Prenaveau for his service.
“Chris’ bravery & sacrifice today truly embody the spirit of selflessness & public service found in the (New Hampshire troopers),” Sununu tweeted on Saturday.
Prenaveau did not offer a timetable for when he would return to work, saying that he would be back on patrol as soon as he fully recovered. When asked if he would have done anything differently, only one thing came to mind.
“I think I would have jumped higher,” Prevaneau said with a laugh.
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©2017 Portsmouth Herald, N.H.