Allegheny County police officer recognized for saving man’s life

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — An Allegheny County police officer who saved a man’s life at Pittsburgh International Airport was recognized for his efforts Tuesday night.

On Oct. 11, Officer Marc Pruchnitzky had been at work for less than an hour at Pittsburgh International Airport when he heard about a medical emergency at the ticketing counter on a TSA agent’s radio. Before county dispatch sent out its own call, Pruchnitzky was already en route to save the man’s life.

>>> Quick actions of Allegheny County police officer credited with saving man’s life

“I was actually down below on the checkpoint level and we overheard a TSA agent radio on their radios that there was an incident and that’s when I started to that location,” Pruchnitzky told Channel 11 that day.

Pruchnitzky found the man in cardiac arrest, on the ground, unresponsive and barely breathing. Fortunately, a good Samaritan at the airport had already brought an AED to the man’s side.

He immediately started CPR to save the man’s life.

At the Allegheny County Council meeting on Tuesday night, leaders honored Pruchnitzky with a proclamation.

“I was just very thankful that he was able to come back out of it and I was just so happy that he was able to speak to me after the incident,” Pruchnitzky said.

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