Cranbury officer recognized for actions

[Cranbury Press]

Cranbury officer recognized for actions
Thursday, July 24, 2008 4:39 PM EDT
By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer




CRANBURY — It was during the off-duty hours that Patrol Officer Guiseppe DeChiara happened upon an accident in East Windsor, and it was his quick thinking and training that saved two lives.

It began in the pre-dawn hours of March 13, 2007, a day that started out like any other, with a daily commute to Cranbury for Officer DeChiara.

During that foggy morning drive, Officer DeChiara caught site of what appeared to be a car crash in a poorly lit section of Route 130 at Conover Road in East Windsor Township, according to a Cranbury Township Police Department press release.

Officer DeChiara pulled over and assisted the driver of an overturned truck to the side of the road before realizing that a second vehicle, approximately 50 yards north, also had been involved in the accident, it states.

As he approached the car Officer DeChiara said he noticed the incapacitated driver, James Stevens, of Burlington, bleeding profusely from a head wound and black smoke billowing out from the engine compartment.
Although he had planned to leave the injured driver and call for help, Officer DeChiara said that, as the car became engulfed in smoke, he decided to get Mr. Stevens out of the vehicle.

”Then he said something about a baby,” Officer DeChiara said.
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http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2008/07/24/cranbury_press/lifestyle/doc4888e40899a74977561779.txt