Honorees

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Year Honored
2013
Honoree
David Restuccio
Title
Paramedic
Agency
LIJ/Staten Island University Hospital EMS
Agency City
Staten Island
Agency State
NY
Last Call
8/27/12
Cause of Death
Ambulance Involved MVC
Biography
"Don't worry unless you see me worry." Anyone that knew Dave knew he had an unflappable nature that set his patients, as well as those that worked with him, at ease. He would often use that quote to help bring calm to many situations. He was known as the "Mayor" of the hospital, and everywhere you went someone knew Dave. "He had an innate ability to make friends, to become part of the crowd no matter where he went." Because he was so invested in people, Restuccio had an uncanny ability to remember folks' names and their family members' names.<br /> <br /> Restuccio graduated from Monsignor Farrell High School on Staten Island in 1971, and worked with the NYC EMS, becoming involved with FDNY EMS from 1981 to 2006. Dave was one of the many members of EMS who responded to the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Restuccio didn't talk much about 9/11, but for two months he fulfilled a solemn duty, working in the morgue to separate the victims' remains from the debris of the World Trade Center. "He chose that particular assignment," recalled his close friend. "To him, it was important that the remains be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. ... He saw that as a really important job." When Restuccio retired from the FDNY, he spent time with his children and grandchildren camping and skiing, but the lure of his former profession proved too much for him. He went back to work as a paramedic with the Staten Island University Hospital.<br /> <br /> He was an avid skier, his friends recalled, and though diabetes would later prevent his hitting the slopes, he would still go camping with his adult sons, Matthew and David. He had a recreation vehicle with stickers from every state. Dave was a proud grandfather as well, often telling detailed stories of his grandchildren. He had recently proposed to his long time friend and co-worker, Dr. Lorraine Giordano, EMS medical director, and more recently served as an emergency medical physician for the FDNY.<br /> <br /> On the evening of August 27, 2012, David was driving a patient in non-emergency mode on an inter-facility transfer. An SUV struck the ambulance with such great force that it overturned the ambulance, pinning Dave inside and killing the driver of the SUV. Firefighters used heavy rescue equipment to free Restuccio from the ambulance and tried frantically to save him. Despite the efforts of all who tried to save him David later succumbed to his injuries.<br /> <br /> Honored 2013