Crime & Safety
Tewksbury Dispatchers Honored for Helping Save Young Lives
Garin Worth and Matthew Carapellucci both instructed 911 callers on how to save a life in recent months.
A pair of Tewksbury Police and Fire dispatchers were honored by the Massachusetts State 911 Department on Wednesday for their efforts in helping save the lives of two young Tewksbury residents in recent months.
During a ceremony, Garin Worth was recognized for saving the life of a three-year-old girl who had stopped breathing and was unresponsive on November 4.
After receiving the 911 call, Worth instructed the caller with emergency medical instruction and helped the woman perform life-saving action on her granddaughter, Police Chief Timothy Sheehan said in a press release.
Worth and his coworker, Dispatch Supervisor Ted Sullivan, were credited with stabilizing the situation while an ambulance was sent to the scene. Thanks to Worth's instructions, the three-year-old was breathing on her own again by the end of the call.
Also recognized on Wednesday was Matthew Carapellucci, who on July 11 received a 911 call from a woman attempting to save her 12-year-old grandson who was choking.
By following Carapellucci's instructions, the woman and her husband were able to dislodge a piece of meat from her grandson's throat while dispatch officer Kim Griffin arranged for an ambulance to be sent to the scene.
In addition to the awards they received on Wednesday, both Worth and Carapellucci were nominated for the 2013 Smart911 Smart Telecommunicator Award.
Worth was chosen as the Northeast Regional honoree, presented with a plaque earlier this month. Smart 911 also made a donation of $500 in his honor to the charity of Worth's choice, and he selected the American Cancer Society.
"The Tewksbury Police Department is very proud of these two individuals and their outstanding performance," said Sheehan in the press release. "The Public Safety Dispatcher is the unsung hero and the first line of defense for those officers working in the street. Police officers rely on the professionalism of their dispatchers daily to help send them home safely to their families at the end of their shift."
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