Public servants honored in Pittsburgh for extraordinary responses

The Port Authority bus mangled the woman when it hit her, nearly taking one of her legs.

“There were bystanders trying to control the blood flow, but it was much greater than they could control,” Port Authority police Officer Dominic Ravotti recalled Friday.

One of the first responders, Ravotti tried to stabilize Joan Grove, 60, while Port Authority police Detective Kevin Atkins applied a department-issued tourniquet.

“I tried to reassure her that she wasn't going to die,” said Ravotti, who worked on an ambulance crew at age 16 and was an emergency medical technician before becoming an officer. “With doing it for so long, you just get there, go into the zone and do your job.”

Ravotti and Atkins, a paramedic for nearly three decades, received the “To Protect and Serve” award, one of seven awards given at the Amen Corner Senator John Heinz Law Enforcement Luncheon on Friday.

“After you've done it for a while, you're able to do whatever it is you need to do,” Atkins said. “I don't want to say you're on autopilot, but you know what needs to be done.”

Grove, 60, reached at home, said an attorney advised her not to comment.

Port Authority police Chief Stephen McCauley said Grove was walking quickly during rush hour on June 6 and stepped onto Sixth Avenue to try to pass slower-moving people on the sidewalk. The bus hit her from behind.

“It was really a heinous injury,” McCauley said. He said doctors amputated her leg.

Three months later, on Sept. 27, Ravotti was first on a scene again.

He used two tourniquets to stop bleeding from the leg of a man who tried to jump between two light-rail trolleys at the First Avenue station. One trolley hit and dragged the man. Pittsburgh paramedics told Port Authority police that Ravotti may have saved the man's life.

“It's nice to be recognized, but I don't go to work every day hoping to be recognized,” Ravotti said. “I go because I love doing the job.”

Ravotti stopped mid-interview, said “Fire!” and rushed away.

He'd noticed a tipped candle that sparked a small fire on a table. He and others quickly doused it with a glass of water. Then Ravotti, who also worked as a firefighter, returned to talking about the importance of medical training for police officers.

He and Atkins train officers in emergency medical techniques.

“It's a good thing we carry the tourniquets; they've saved two lives,” Ravotti said.

Margaret Harding is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-380-8519 or mharding@tribweb.com.