2 MBTA Workers Honored for Saving Commuter's Life

(NECN: Greg Wayland) -  Two MBTA employees have been honored for their heroism and quick response to an emergency.

On the morning of January 27, Kevin Bossart, 24, dropped on the stairs at the Wollaston, Mass. MBTA station with a congenital heart condition. He was dying.

MBTA customer service representative Karen Kane rushed to his side.

“And she also knew that MBTA training school instructor Tomas Gonzales was helping staff in Wollaston that cold morning," said Richard Davey, Mass. secretary of transportation.

Kane knew Tomas Gonzales’s specialty was CPR.

"It was just a chance that I was there at Wollaston that morning and that day for the cold coverage. I wasn't feeling well. I almost called in sick. But something just made me go in," Gonzales said.

Now both Kane and Gonzales have been honored by the MBTA for their life-saving public service- Gonzales for administering CPR until first responders arrived and for Kane’s quick, calm action.

"Well, at the time," she says, and laughs heartily, saying, "then, truthfully, I fell apart."

Kevin is still hospitalized, but his family is grateful.

"The gratitude is beyond words. I'm overwhelmed with the work that both Karen and Tomas did," said Trish Bossart, the victim’s mother.

"If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have Kevin still. We spent many nights with the doctor saying he might not make it to the next day. But thanks to Tomas and Karen, he's still with us and doing wonderful," Katherine Bossart, his sister, added.

Both of these heroes, along with Kevin's family members, stress the importance of learning CPR.

Copyright NECNMIGR - NECN
Contact Us