Two travelers who provided assistance during a pair of medical emergencies on a Frontier Airlines flight bound for Trenton-Mercer Airport were honored by Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes and the Board of Chosen Freeholders June 13.
During a Feb. 19 flight from Orlando, Fla. Anthony Casciano and Stephen Fazekas assisted two passengers suffering from medical emergencies.
About 20 minutes after takeoff, flight attendants began administering aid to a two-year-old girl Kelly Griffin who was having a medical emergency. Recognizing the severity of the situation, they requested the assistance of any passengers who possessed medical expertise.
Casciano, a New Jersey state trooper, and Fazekas, an emergency medical technician, offered to help. After determining that the unresponsive child was having a seizure, they instructed the crew to have the pilot land the plane as soon as possible so she could be taken to a hospital.
As the flight was being rerouted to Jacksonville, Fla., the two men tended to the child and comforted her family.
During the plane’s descent, an adult passenger began having an asthma attack, and Casciano and Fazekas helped flight attendants tend to her while also monitoring the little girl.
When the plane landed in Jacksonville, the two men briefed paramedics on what had transpired so they could take over.
Both passengers recovered and the little girl and her parents, who live in Hamilton Township, were present June 13 when Casciano and Fazekas were honored.
Casciano is a resident of Montgomery Township and Fazekas, who retired last year as Florence Township police chief, lives in Burlington.
Casciano and Fazekas received a joint proclamation recognizing the important and decisive actions. In addition, they each received a monetary gift card provided by Frontier Airlines to put toward their next Frontier flight and a gift bag provided by Trenton-Mercer Airport.
