2022 Lifesaving Award Recipients

  • Post published:October 13, 2022
  • Post category:Lifesaving

Congratulations to the 2022 Lifesaving Award Recipients! The Governor’s Industrial Safety and Health Advisory Board honored this year’s Lifesaving Award Recipients at the 71st annual Safety and Health Conference. Drew Mikkelsen of KING 5 TV hosted the event and recognized 17 Lifesaving award recipients.

Carter Motors – Retail employee David Smith observed a coworker displaying some unusual behaviors.
David became concerned and helped the coworker lay on the floor in case they lost consciousness, which they did shortly after. David performed CPR until paramedics arrived. The coworker has since made a full recovery and doctors credit David’s quick response for the positive outcome.

City of Kennewick – A jogger experienced a heart attack and collapsed on the sidewalk as Public Works
employee Cam Magelsen drove by. Cam immediately stopped his work vehicle to help him. He called 911 and administered CPR until first responders arrived. The jogger received medical aid and is now doing well. He is expressing his appreciation to everyone, including Cam, who helped him during his medical emergency.

Energy Northwest – While at work, an individual got something stuck in their throat and went to the
restroom to attempt to remove the blockage. Grover Hettel discovered the coworker who was then having difficulty breathing and appeared to be choking. The coworker could not speak and pointed to their throat and chest. Grover successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver, saving his coworker’s life.

Kennewick SD – Middle school PE teacher Dwane Sitler responded to a student who was unresponsive
after a PE activity. Dwane began emergency response using an automated external defibrillator (AED) on the student. The shock from the AED revived the student. They were transported to the hospital by emergency responders for further care. The student later returned to school with no lasting effects.

Chelan PUD – Parks employee Evan Smith responded to a visitor who was experiencing an apparent drug overdose. Evan called 911, removed the visitor from their vehicle, and began chest compressions. A second parks employee, Anthony Ibarra, secured the scene and communicated with emergency responders. Paramedics arrived and continued CPR. The visitor’s pulse returned and they were transported by ambulance to a hospital for further care.

Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families – Youth counselor Richard Umu was working in a community youth facility when he found an unconscious resident from an apparent drug
overdose. Richard secured the facility, called 911, and administered two doses of Narcan, which reversed the effects of the drugs and saved the young resident’s life. It was his split second decision and courage to act that made that difference.

Lakeside Industries – Paving foreman John Ussery of Lakeside Industries was traveling along a state route and encountered a severely damaged vehicle that had collided with a power pole damaging
both the car and the power pole. John used his vehicle to block the road and redirect traffic around the scene of the accident. He grabbed his first aid and trauma kit while directing others nearby to call 911. The vehicle’s passenger exited the vehicle, covered in blood, traumatized and in shock. John helped her across the road away from the live power lines and assessed her injuries. She was in shock and difficult to get details from, but John knew to return to the vehicle to assess the driver who was slumped over and bleeding heavily from the chest. He found what he believed to be a gunshot wound to the driver’s chest. John used his prior military and law enforcement experience to determine the driver had a sucking chest wound and applied the appropriate bandage. Emergency responders arrived and John assisted them in performing CPR. After 22 minutes of CPR and three rounds of shocks administered with an AED, the driver was unfortunately pronounced dead on the scene. Although the driver did not survive, John Ussery assisted with securing the scene of the accident, helped the passenger.

Jackson Design Build – A team of construction workers were unloading steel beams when a coworker complained of back pain. The coworker then fell backwards, began seizing, and stopped breathing.
Kainan Jennings immediately began CPR while a second employee called 911. EMTs revived the coworker and transported them to the hospital for further treatment. The medical team discovered that the coworker had a tumor on their adrenal gland causing a surge of adrenalin that caused their heart to stop. The EMTs stated that if the employee had not administered CPR, the coworker would have died.

Snohomish County – A customer at the county recycle and transfer station collapsed while unloading their truck. Two county employees, Eric Roberts and Carlos Sevilla, saw the person collapse and rushed over to help while a third employee, Scott Barton, called 911. Carlos and Eric began CPR while Scott connected the AED to the victim and delivered a shock. Soon after, emergency responders arrived and took control of the scene. The paramedics later said that the workers’ quick actions “absolutely saved
the victim’s life.”

Stacy & Witbeck/Kiewit JV – Workers Matthew Tannahill, Jeffrey Mikeska, and Colton Ward, saw smoke following a freeway traffic accident where a van lost a wheel and crashed into a guardrail. The workers rushed to the scene and found the van was on its side and on fire. The three workers grabbed fire extinguishers and broke the van’s windshield in order to pull out two crash victims inside. The workers then provided aid while simultaneously making efforts to control the fire. The workers continued to coordinate with State Patrol when they arrived. The troopers noted that if Matthew, Jeffrey and Colton had not been on hand to help, they are unsure how the crash victims would have fared.

Snohomish PUD – Two public utility workers Tommy O’Brien and Bill “Greeny” Greenfield observed an individual struggling in snowy wet conditions to deliver a gas can to a family member needed for the generator in the off-grid property where they were staying. The individual attempted to drive up the muddy hill but slid back to the bottom of the hill. Tommy and Bill offered to drive the individual to the top of the hill. The individual walked toward them, making it about 150 feet before they began to struggle. Falling in the knee-deep snow, the individual tried to crawl to higher ground but soon gave up, laying in the snow. Recognizing a serious situation, Tommy ventured out to rescue the individual while Bill worked to turn the utility vehicle around so they could all descend the hill. Tommy found the individual lying in the snow exhausted and having lost both their boots in the snow and mud. Tommy ultimately dragged the person out of the snow while they held onto his back. Tommy and Bill returned the individual to their car, helped them change into dry clothes, and helped them warm their feet. The person regained feeling in their feet and was able to safely return home.