SAN FRANCISCO—Back in April, Grace Alongi, 19, a San Francisco Police Department Police cadet helped assist a motorcyclist who was injured during a multi-vehicle crash. The incident occurred on April 5 along southbound 680 approaching the Main Street exit near Walnut Creek.
According to a press release from the SFPD, Alongi was leaving school and headed towards San Francisco to start her shift in the SFPD’s Special Victims Unit. She witnessed the crash on the northbound side where a motorcyclist was launched into the air and over a center divider into oncoming southbound traffic. Alongi was not able to safely stop her vehicle without striking the rider, but immediately exited her vehicle and utilized her Cadet uniform and department issued latex gloves to assist. She applied pressure to the victim’s wounds, as she directed onlookers to phone 911 for assistance.
While injured, the motorcyclist was still conscious and Cadet Alongi kept the victim speaking with giving first aid. Paramedics arrived on the scene and performed CPR, when the victim lost consciousness. The victim later died from injuries sustained.
Cadet Alongi remained on the scene to provide statements to CHP investigators, including the victim’s final statement before he lost consciousness. She later spoke on the phone to the victim’s daughter, at the family’s request to deliver her father’s last minutes and provide comfort and closure. Cadet Alongi was brought on board as a Cadet in February 2015, and completed SFPD Cadet Academy training, which includes First Aid and CPR.
When asked why she had stopped on the freeway to render aid and provide comfort to the victim at great personal risk, Cadet Alongi stated, “It was something natural- anybody would do it.”
“The San Francisco Police Department is extremely proud of Cadet Grace Alongi. She was joined by her family and numerous high ranking members of the Department [May 11] as she was honored with a Certificate of Merit and Appreciation by the San Francisco Police Commission. We look forward to her joining the force- she’s set to apply for the Q2-Police Officer hiring process this month on her 20th birthday,” stated the SFPD.
