A lifelong public servant badly injured in a motorcycle accident on Tuesday owes a good Samaritan his life – even if he doesn’t know who to thank. Now, the crash victim’s family has made it their mission to show their appreciation to the life-saving bystander whose identity remains unknown.
Tony Sessin, who spent 33 years working for Cleveland EMS before retiring a decade ago, was severely injured Tuesday morning in a motorcycle accident on Bagley Road in Berea. Sessin was not at-fault in the crash, his family said.
The impact of the crash sent Sessin over the windshield on his motorcycle. He suffered road rash and lacerations on his head, face and arms. However, the severe road rash paled in comparison to the catastrophic injuries to one of his legs.
The bones in one of his legs from the knee down were shattered entirely, severing the critical arteries that send blood to the calf and foot. All of his toes on both feet were also broken. Sessin was losing a lot of blood – and quickly.
Still conscious, Sessin said that’s when the good Samaritan came to his aid.
“It was a bystander. That’s what we’re assuming. And if it’s not a bystander, it’s an officer or a fireman,” said Jenny Sessin, Tony’s wife of 38 years. “Someone put a tourniquet on my husband’s leg, and it saved his life. I don’t care how you look at it. He’s alive. He might not have a leg in the end, but he’s here, and he’s alive. And we want to thank you personally from the bottom of our hearts. Please come forward so we can thank you.”
The deployment of the tourniquet helped slow the bleeding, buying precious time to get Sessin to the trauma center. Jenny Sessin said Tony believes it was a bystander who used the tourniquet because both police and fire officials said the tourniquet was already in place when they arrived. The family is hoping the accident report, which will be complete in a couple of days, will shed light on the identities of the parties involved.
Tony’s career at Cleveland EMS was dedicated to saving the lives of others. The roles were reversed this time. The irony isn’t lost on his wife.
“I have folders at home from people thanking him for what he’s done so this is my opportunity to thank someone out there for what they’ve done,” Jenny Sessin said. “He has a leg, but we don’t know how long. He’s a fighter, but if that tourniquet wasn’t there, I believe with all my heart he would have died.”
Tony’s youngest son, Steven, said doctors told him that the tourniquet likely kept his father from bleeding out and dying.
“The doctor even said people that have this kind of trauma to their leg, they don’t just lose their leg, they can die,” Steven Sessin said. “I know this [good Samaritan] would be welcomed easily. Everybody in my family would hug this guy. I just want to give him my personal thanks for keeping my father here right now.”
Tony has another son that is a firefighter at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. His daughter is in the Navy and is currently stationed in Guam. Public service runs deep in the family. Jenny Sessin hopes one day for the opportunity to thank the man that saved her husband’s life.
“You saved my husband. You saved my husband,” Jenny Sessin said. “ Don’t think you’re not a hero. You are.”
