[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13933]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE BRAVERY AND HEROIC DEEDS OF IGOR TOBAS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 20, 2011

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the heroic deeds of a 
young man from Memphis, Tennessee whose quick thinking and courage 
helped save the life of a child caught in an unfortunate accident. Igor 
Tobas, 21, was working as a valet at Elfo Grisanti's restaurant on 
September 10th when he was alarmed by the sounds of a child screaming 
in agony. Igor quickly rushed to the scene to find that Caleb Roedel, 
15, had sustained a severed leg from the knee down after his leg became 
trapped underneath a slow moving train. Tobas, without delay, tied his 
belt around Caleb's leg to prevent him from losing blood and he 
continued to apply pressure to the wound until paramedics arrived on 
the scene.
  The paramedics continued to use Igor's belt until they were able to 
airlift the child to a local hospital. If it were not for the quick 
thinking and heroic act of Igor Tobas, Caleb Roedel would possibly not 
be alive today.
  What makes this event so remarkable is not only the quick thinking of 
Igor but the fact that he does not consider himself to be a hero. When 
asked about the event, Igor responded by saying that he only did what 
he could since no one on the scene knew what to do. Even more 
remarkable, Tobas returned to work after the event even though his arms 
were still covered in blood after saving a child's life. His boss, Mr. 
Grisanti, said of Tobas, ``the world needs more people like him.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in honoring the 
brave actions of Igor Tobas. His actions clearly show that anyone can 
perform acts of heroism if they simply choose to engage in service to 
their fellow citizens, regardless of the situation. While Mr. Tobas 
does not consider himself to be a hero, I think that the family of 
Caleb Roedel and citizens of Memphis surely do. Thank you, Igor Tobas, 
for your courage and commitment to protecting the life of a fellow 
citizen. It is my sincere hope that we can all find it in our hearts to 
follow your example in the future.

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