A courageous Westchester father and daughter who stopped a person from stabbing his spouse to demise in a jealous rage — then saved her life with a makeshift tourniquet — have been honored as “quick-thinking” heroes at an award ceremony Wednesday.
“She survived that day as a result of two strangers, understanding nothing of the dispute at hand, did one thing nobody requested them to do,” Westchester District Lawyer Susan Cacace stated on the “civilian hero” occasion for Armando and Shayla Gramajo.
“They did one thing that positioned them in the way in which of a knife-wielding assailant. They intervened. They saved [her] life,” she stated.
Armando Gramajo, a Guatemalan-born bus driver, was engaged on his automobile at his house in White Plains on Might 4, 2024, when he heard a lady scream “assist!” in Spanish.
He then noticed the lady’s husband, Carlos Obed-Tovar, chasing her down Harding Avenue with a knife.
Obed-Tovar — who was enraged his spouse had spoken to a male work colleague — stabbed her repeatedly within the again, neck and cranium in an assault so vicious the deal with broke off the blade, in response to lohud.com
Gramajo sprang into motion, shouting “Para! Para!” in Spanish — a command that means “cease!” that he used whereas serving within the Guatemalan military.
Obed-Tovar, extremely, ceased stabbing his spouse and froze.
Gramajo referred to as for his daughter, Shayla, to return out of the house and assist the sufferer, who was gushing blood.
Shayla, who was then coaching to develop into a doctor’s assistant, rushed out of the storage with towels that she used to use strain to the lady’s wounds.
“It might have gone the opposite approach and I’m simply glad it didn’t,” Shayla Gramajo, 25, informed The Submit Wednesday.
“Fortunately, it didn’t escalate any additional.”
When Obed-Tovar tried to run away, Gramajo once more shouted “Para! Para!” and he once more stopped and stayed on the scene.
The violent abuser, it turned out, had been a narcotics officer in his native nation, Colombia, and responded instinctually to the command, Cacace stated.
The sufferer, recognized solely as Carolina, was rushed to a hospital and underwent emergency surgical procedure. She finally survived with a complete of 35 stab wounds, a few of which she endured earlier than fleeing her condominium.
“On your fast pondering, bravery and heroism on Might 4th, 2024, I’m presenting you with the inaugural Civilian Hero award,” Cacace stated on the ceremony at Westchester County Courthouse on Wednesday.
Armando Gramajo, who speaks restricted English, stated he was merely grateful he could possibly be there to assist.
“I say, God thanks we have been there when it occurred,” he stated. “Thanks very a lot for making this ceremony for us.”
The sufferer, whose vocal chords have been broken in the course of the assault, mouthed “thanks” to the daddy and daughter on the ceremony.
“They embody hope, solidarity and the true essence of compassion,” she stated in an announcement learn by an assistant district lawyer.
Obed-Tovar has since pleaded responsible to second-degree tried homicide and was sentenced in August to 12 years in jail.
