A member of the 2018 Islander soccer team has received a commendation for heroic acts in a time of crisis during spring break.
TAMUCC student, Jacqueline Paveglio, along with two other college students from different colleges, received the Citizens Commendation of Merit for their actions following a bad rollover accident that happened on March 10. The other student’s names were Jake Simms from St. Mary’s University, and Zach Cuellar from A&M College Station
The accident happened on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway near the Red Dot Pier. A vehicle lost control, flipped several times, and ejected the driver and passenger from the vehicle right in front of the students driving home from the beach. The car ended up on top of the man and woman, but these awesome students and a few bystanders were able to lift the car off of them and even stuck around to help after personnel arrived.
“The three students – Jacqueline, Jake, and Zach – stuck around and stayed with the woman,” said Jim DeVisser, CCFD Battalion Chief/AERO Team Coordinator. “I started to work with the driver because he was the most severely injured of the two but the students stayed and started talking to the wife and answered her questions the best that they could. They provided moral support and comfort.”
The Corpus Christi Fire Department Chief Robert Rocha conducted the awards ceremony this Friday at the fire station.
Dr. Kelly M. Quintanilla, President and CEO of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, said, “We are extremely grateful to the Corpus Christi Fire Department for recognizing Jacqueline and her friends for their heroic actions, initiative, and leadership at the scene of the accident. Jacqueline demonstrates what it means to make an Islander Impact. We’re proud to call Jacqueline a part of our Islander family and we commend her for answering the call to be a Good Samaritan,”
The university and our community are very proud of their heroic deeds.
