54°F
weather icon Clear

Las Vegas fire dispatcher follows ‘gut feeling,’ helps rescue crash victim

In the pitch-black, early morning hours of March 5, Anthony Bruno followed his gut feeling, and it led to saving a man’s life.

Bruno, 29, a fire dispatcher for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, clocked out at 2 a.m. from his shift at the fire alarm office on North Casino Center Boulevard and was on his way home when he saw a technical rescue truck entering the freeway.

“I saw lights, lights and lights, and I thought it’d be kind of cool to see what was going on since I was right there,” Bruno said. “I also noticed they launched a helicopter as well. I dispatch them nonstop, but I never saw one land on the freeway.”

Bruno kept his vehicle at a safe distance from the scene of the accident — U.S. Highway 95 near Kyle Canyon Road — and watched crews work from afar.

A yellow Nissan had rear-ended a Ford Fusion, causing both vehicles to leave the roadway. The Ford overturned in a nearby desert area while the Nissan hit multiple trees, according to Nevada Highway Patrol.

As the ambulances began to leave, Bruno decided to get back into his truck, but before he could do so, he heard a noise in the distance.

“I thought it was an animal,” he said. “The first thing that went through my mind is that this is the dog of the pickup truck that rolled — this is the family pet.”

Having only heard it once, he decided to start his truck, but as he put it in drive, something happened.

“I had this gut feeling,” he said. “I was overcome with this feeling to go check it out.”

Upon a second review of the area, he heard someone whimper, “Help me.”

“I was terrified,” Bruno recalled. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.”

According to Bruno, the Nissan hit the 20-year-old victim’s car with such an excessive speed that it sent the vehicle rolling three or four times into the desert.

“I tell the guy, ‘Don’t move, I’m going to go get help,’ ” he said. “And I start running like I’ve never ran before.”

The first accident scene was a distance away, and everyone was leaving. He yelled for a Nevada Highway Patrol officer, and after some explaining, the highway patrol officer joined Bruno in running to the scene, trying to get in contact with dispatch.

“I can’t imagine being in his shoes,” Bruno said of the victim. “Thinking that all of these sirens are coming, that a helicopter is coming. He can hear everything, but it’s not for him.”

As Engine 9 arrived on scene and got to work, Bruno recognized a voice that he always hears in his headset.

“I like the captain (of Engine 9),” Bruno said. “I feel like we’re always on a team. It was the weirdest thing in the world to see him pull up on the accident, right in front of me.”

Bruno was impressed with the way the crews worked quickly to free the man from his overturned vehicle.

The man was trapped for an hour and two minutes — a length of time that could have mutiplied had Bruno not been there.

“It was amazing to see everyone grab equipment … everyone knew what they were doing,” he said. “I’m just relieved we found him.”

Bruno was named Las Vegas Fire and Rescue’s Employee of the Month for April for his actions that night.

Fire department spokesman Tim Szymanski said he is going to look into arranging a visit between Bruno and the man he saved.

“If Anthony wouldn’t have been there, that man would have died,” Szymanski said. “Somebody upstairs made it so that he would be there so he would hear that man.”

Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Jessica Terrones contributed to this report. Contact Natalie Bruzda at nbruzda@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3897. Follow @NatalieBruzda on Twitter.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST