The nature of his job led John Lugo to sign up for Fort Lauderdale’s Community Emergency Response Team training early in March. But he never imagined he have to use it so quickly.

On March 19, just two weeks after he finished his training, Lugo witnessed a head-on collision on the Florida Turnpike as he was driving to work.

“Suddenly about five cars ahead of me, a car went out of control and hit the concrete median,” he said. “Then it got hit head-on by a truck. The car did a couple of 360s.”

He quickly pulled his SUV to the shoulder. Inside the smashed car, he found a young woman who told him said she was also pregnant.

Lugo, 37, works for Fort Lauderdale-based Citrix Systems Inc. and signed up for the training after hearing about two co-workers that had gone through the course.

“It sounded right up my alley,” he said.

The federally-funded program trains volunteers in first aid, search and rescue, and other basic triage skills. In 2007, the city received an $11,600 state reimbursement grant to help fund the program.

After calling 911, Lugo stayed with the woman and even offered up his cell phone until emergency services arrived. But he never got the woman’s name.

“I was nervous,” he said. “But it’s important that we help each other out.”