The New York State Police in Troop D formally recognized three individuals for their swift and selfless actions during a critical medical emergency that occurred earlier this year in the Town of Verona, Oneida County.<\/p>\n
On January 5, 2026, at approximately 12:25 p.m., a school bus operator suffered a severe medical event while operating a bus on State Route 365 near the intersection of State Route 31.<\/p>\n
During the incident, Dina Johnson, a First Student employee, immediately took control of the moving bus and safely brought it to a stop, preventing further danger to passengers and the public. Bus monitor Kately Vasquez assisted in assessing the operator\u2019s condition and coordinating emergency response efforts.<\/p>\n
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Johnson flagged down a passing motorist, Stephen Dillon, who stopped to assist. Together, Dillon and Vasquez performed life-saving measures until first responders arrived on scene. Johnson simultaneously contacted 911 and remained actively engaged in managing the emergency until emergency medical personnel assumed care.<\/p>\n
Their decisive actions, teamwork, and composure under pressure were instrumental in ensuring the safety of all involved and exemplify the highest standards of public service and civic responsibility.<\/p>\n
In recognition of their heroic efforts, Dina Johnson, Kately Vasquez, and Stephen Dillon were honored by Major Marc A. Barbera, Troop D Commander, Captain Paul T. Kuropatwinski, and Lieutenant Scott T. Kedenburg.<\/p>\n
Pictured from left to right:
Captain Paul T. Kuropatwinski
Kately Vasquez
Dina Johnson
Major Marc A. Barbera
Stephen Dillon
Lieutenant Scott T. Kedenburg<\/p>\n
The New York State Police commend these individuals for their bravery, quick thinking, and commitment to the safety and well-being of others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York State Police in Troop D formally recognized three individuals for their swift and selfless actions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-206853","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-headlines","10":"tag-new-york-news","11":"tag-new-york-state","12":"tag-new-york-state-headlines","13":"tag-new-york-state-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}