PUC Student Honored by Sheriff's Department

At a May 5 meeting at the Angwin Fire Department, Napa County Sheriff deputy Jon Thompson awarded PUC student Scott Roberts and Angwin resident Mike Real with a Sheriff’s medallion in honor of emergency service they provided.

Late on April 19, Roberts and Real, who had met just the day before, were headed back from Safeway when they saw an orange glow in the road near Beringer Vineyards. They were the first car to happen on a collision involving two patrol cars, one of which was burning.

Roberts, a firefighter with the Angwin Fire Department and an EMT, had his EMT pack. Real, who had emergency training from the Navy, joined Roberts in doing an initial assessment of the situation and of injured Napa County Sheriff deputy Steve Paris.

When ammunition rounds started going off from the burning patrol car, Roberts and Real moved Paris away from the car and continued medical attention. With a nurse who also stopped, and blankets from people at the nearby apartments, the two kept charge of the medical situation for around 20 minutes until emergency personnel showed up in force.

As they talked with Paris to make sure he was conscious, he amazed them with the concern he showed for those around him. Despite injuries including a broken leg and foot twisted around the wrong way, he was worried about his partner, the people around him, and those caring for him. “He’s the hero,” said Roberts.

To Roberts and Real, the experience was surreal — and all the fuss seems strange. “It’s what we love to do,” they said. “We were just doing what we were trained to do.”

“We don’t know what to do or what to say,” Roberts said. “It’s just what we were trained to do, would do for anybody, would hope somebody would do for us. It’s not anything special.” Real agreed, saying, “To us it was just another day.”

Still, the episode kept them from sleeping that night. “It was the biggest adrenaline rush ever,” Roberts said.  And, they laugh, “What a way to start a friendship.”