Fayette County

Off-duty police officers save man’s life while shopping in Uniontown

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — Two off-duty police officers are being credited with help saving a life while shopping on Sunday.

Nicholas and Melissa Gustovich were walking into the Gabe’s store in Uniontown when they heard people screaming for help and shoppers running around. Nicholas is a corporal for the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and Melissa is an officer for Waybesburg Boro.

The couple found an elderly man unconscious with no pulse, as shoppers had begun CPR. Medics arrived and took over, all working together and taking turns doing CPR.

“He was completely unresponsive. We were doing everything we could. We were checking for a pulse, when we first got there there was no pulse,” Melissa Gustovich said.

Fayette County EMS chief Rick Adobato told Channel 11 it was teamwork at its finest.

The Greene County Sheriff also praised everyone’s efforts, posting on Facebook about the off-duty lifesaving response.

We would like to thank our Corporal Nick Gustovich and Waynesburg Borough Patrolman Melissa Gustovich on their life...

Posted by Greene County Sheriff's Office on Sunday, January 2, 2022

The Gustovichs said they don’t have an update on the man’s condition, but would love to meet him. “Glad we were in the right spot, right time,” Nicholas said.

Medics say when they got to the hospital, the man was breathing on his own again.