SCOSC Safety Awards
Life Saving Award
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Mark Abell (right), VP of SCOSC, presents the Life Saving Awards to Kenneth G. Rye(left) and Joseph G. Sabbagha (not in photo). |
2006 Life Saving Award
This year’s recipients are Kenneth G. Rye and Joseph G. Sabbagha, employee of South Carolina Electric and Gas Company.
For Kenny and Joey, Friday, December 8th was a normal day until they came upon a many lying in the grass near Exit 2 on Interstate 77.
They were driving back to the crew quarters to pick up a work order when they saw a man with blood on his head and hands on the side of the Interstate.
They pulled off and hurried over to the man. From the top of the embankment they could see a pickup truck resting in a swampy area below. The man had cuts and scrapes on his face and arms, and he was shivering badly.
He told them he’d had a diabetic seizure and run off the road, but he didn’t know where he was. He had a prosthetic leg and he said it took him a half hour to crawl up the embankment. It was really cold that day and he wasn’t wearing a jacket and was going into shock.
Mr. Rye radioed the distribution dispatcher and asked her to call the Highway Patrol and EMS. He and Joey retrieved towels from the truck and applied them to the man’s cuts. Kenny took off his jacket and wrapped it around the man’s shoulders.
About this time, a Metro Crew Quarters Line Supervisor, who’d overhead the radio transmission, called and asked if they needed help. Kenny requested more blankets.
They were with the man about 30 minutes before the ambulance arrived. All they could do was to try to keep him warm until EMS got there.
Once the ambulance arrived, Kenny and Joey helped the EMS crew lift the man onto a stretcher. Then called his family to let them know about the accident and to direct them to the Lexington Medical Center.