Johnny On The Spot
Four-time Iraq/Afghan vet John Melson happens on scene, applies a tourniquet to save a biker’s life after his leg is ripped off in a head-on collision with a probation officer, who was driving the wrong way and is now charged with DWI. Boston Herald:
A quick-thinking war vet has been hailed as a hero for saving a motorcyclist’s life after his leg was torn off in a head-on crash with an allegedly drunken Boston probation officer’s car.
John Melson, 37, used crash victim Mark Cronin’s belt to make a tourniquet and stem the bleeding after Cronin’s left leg was severed in the crash on the Neponset River Bridge in Quincy on Saturday morning.
Doctors at Quincy Medical Center told police that if not for Melson, dad-of-three Cronin, 41, “would have died due to the femoral artery being cut.”
But modest Melson, 37, told the Herald, “I don’t consider myself a hero.”
The Massachusetts National Guardsman from Hyde Park who is a veteran of four tours of Iraq and Afghanistan, added, “I’m just glad he’s OK. I hope someone would do the same for me.”
Cronin, a laborer from Quincy, was riding home across the bridge on his Harley-Davidson at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday when a Honda Accord driven by Boston Juvenile Court probation officer Mary Beth Frisoli, 32, came speeding toward him in the wrong lane, police said.
The force of the impact tore Cronin’s leg from his body and threw his bike 50 feet.
Cadaver-sniffing police dogs had to be brought in to find his severed limb, which had been flung from the bridge and into bushes below, according to a police report.
Melson, who has helped treat troops whose limbs have been blown off by bombs, came across the crash as he rode his motorcycle and weaved through traffic to reach Cronin. When he saw the severe injury, he darted into action.
“If it wasn’t for him my husband would be dead. It’s a miracle that he arrived when he did. I can’t ever express my thanks (enough) to this man,” Cronin’s wife, Carolyn, told the Herald.
The couple, who have three children ages 5, 6 and 10, will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary Friday.
She said her husband was “angry” but will be OK after undergoing six hours of surgery yesterday.
Frisoli initially denied drinking but later admitted she had drunk one Bud Light an hour and a half before the crash, police said.
Frisoli allegedly flashed her badge and exclaimed “It’s all right; I am on the job” to the first person on the scene - an off-duty Boston police officer, according to a police report.
Then, during a field sobriety test, she allegedly insisted on singing the alphabet despite being repeatedly told to speak the letters.
She pleaded not guilty to drunken driving, driving to endanger and other traffic violations at Quincy District Court yesterday.
Here’s Cronin and family.
Stay tuned, there may be more. Meanwhile: Humble Guardsman recalls life-saving heroics, says he isn’t a hero.
Topics: Boston, booze, cars, military
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 3:58 pm on Tuesday, August 26, 2008
2 Responses to “Johnny On The Spot”
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August 26th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Yet another example of a man grounded in real life who does what needs to be done, instead of standing around flapping his hands, waiting for the State to do it.
Bless you, Jphn Melton, and bless all those military babykillers who taught you what to do.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:40 am
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the - Web Reconnaissance for 08/26/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.