Morning Roundup: GoFundMe for injured paramedic; sea lion dies at zoo
Here are a few morning news items from Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
GoFundMe started for injured Lower Kiski paramedic
A fellow emergency worker has started a GoFundMe for the Lower Kiski Ambulance paramedic injured in an ambulance crash early Wednesday morning near the Waterworks shopping center on Freeport Road.
Dina Filo-O’Neil was riding in the back of the ambulance when it crashed. Coworker Samantha Boyd, who has worked alongside Filo-O’Neil for three years, said she suffered multiple broken ribs, a shoulder fracture, orbital fractures and damaged vertebrae.
“I just wanted to give somebody the chance to regain some hope in this world,” Boyd told TribLive news partner WTAE. “I mean, she gives you the shirt off her back whenever you need it. She’s always there for you to help. So I figured, What better time to help one of our own?”
Filo-O’Neil and her husband Ray are both paramedics.
Pittsburgh Zoo sea lion dies while under sedation
An 18-year-old sea lion at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium died while under sedation to diagnose an illness.
Zoo officials announced the death of Seahawk, who was rescued from California in 2006. They said Seahawk had been exhibiting unusual behavior and refused food for several days.
In an effort to diagnose his condition, zoo officials placed him under medical sedation.
“Sedation of a compromised animal carries a certain risk and, unfortunately, likely due to his illness, Hawk experienced an adverse reaction and did not survive the procedure,” zoo officials said in a social media post.
Seahawk was the father to a sea lion pup, Kai, born last summer, and is the third animal to die in recent weeks at the zoo. A 2-year-old elephant calf named Tsuni died after being diagnosed with a disease on Feb. 8, and a Western lowland gorilla named Mrithi died earlier this month.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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