SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – A routine call turned dangerous for a Manatee County EMS team when a gun came out. Today, the two brave men are recognized for their heroic actions on May 31st.
It began as a call about a disoriented driver on 53rd Avenue West in Bradenton.
“It’s a scenario of a possible intoxicated driver, just unresponsive at a traffic light, not responding to verbal stimuli, banging on the windows, we tried the door handles, not of them were working, they were all locked,” Paramedic, Joe Savasta said.
Savasta broke into the back window, crawled in, put it in park, and took the keys out.
“Initially noticing he had his hands directly down to his side, kind of gripping his pants just a little bit irregular to be asleep with your hands flat onto your thighs, gripping,” Savasta said.
He and his partner, Carlos Santos took it in as a medical scenario checking his vitals and his high heart rate with an EKG.
At the moment, the first responders had to switch gears from saving someone’s life to saving their own, when the driver pulled out a gun.
“I saw the gun, I know what guns do and in the back of mind, it said, ‘get it or we’re all dead,'” Santos said.
Immediately, Savasta sprang into action.
“He’s the true hero here,” Santos said.
“My partner, that’s my brother, I don’t think of him as a friend, I think of him as a brother,” Savasta said. “Friends are loving always, brothers were born for adversity.”
Manatee County deputies took the driver into custody before anyone was hurt. While paramedics work to save lives, they must be prepared for danger.
“When people are sick or injured, they’re not themselves sometimes, so they’re going to act differently than they would if they were ok,” Santos said. “So you always gotta be on a lookout. You never know when something triggers something.”
Tuesday morning, the two heroes were recognized for disarming the driver quickly and safely.
“I was not expecting this, this is very warming,” Savasta said.
The driver was charged with DUI and attempted murder.
