(January 3, 2019 – Lindenhurst, NY) – “These are my guardian angels,” said Peter Detroll in the hallway outside of the Babylon Town Board Room on Wednesday January 3, 2019. Supervisor Rich Schaffer, Deputy Supervisor Tony Martinez and the rest of the Town Board presented Amanda Illig and Rachel D’Amato, two seasonal employees at Cedar Beach, with the Town of Babylon Heroism Award, the highest honor it offers. On August 8, 2018, their quick thinking saved Detroll’s life when they retrieved the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) located in the facility’s office.
“I think I speak for everyone here at the Town of Babylon when I say how relieved we are that Peter survived this ordeal, and how proud we are of Rachel and Amanda for saving his life,” said Supervisor Schaffer. “Our Parks department does an amazing job of hiring special individuals to work at our facilities in the summer and this is a testament to that,” he continued.
At the presentation, Detroll thanked Illig and D’Amato and told them that he would not have been able to walk his daughter down the aisle at her recent wedding if it wasn’t for their actions.
Detroll was playing volleyball on the beach when he began to experience discomfort and collapsed. Another visitor began to care for Detroll and called out for a defibrillator. That’s when Illig and D’Amato sprang into action and sprinted to retrieve the device from the facility office. The visitor used the device on Detroll before emergency services arrived and transported him to a local hospital. Medical professionals that cared for Detroll when he arrived predicted he would not have survived the ordeal if the AED was not used on him.
“This story is a perfect example of why we keep fully-functioning AEDs at all of our beach and pool facilities,” said Deputy Supervisor Martinez, who is also the chairman of the Parks and Recreation Committee. “We strive to provide the safest possible environment for our visitors, and Amanda and Rachel’s actions show that our staff will go above-and-beyond to ensure that,” he added.