CURTICE, Ohio — When Bonnie Dobrosky walked into the Jerusalem Township Recreation Hall to cast her ballot on Election Day, it was reportedly busy with over 1,200 voters. Nothing too out of the ordinary for a highly anticipated general election.
"This is one of the larger ones that we have seen and I feel in a long time. But with the beautiful weather and a lot of the opportunities to do early voting, I wasn't too surprised to see the turnout that we had, said Jasmine Tropf, an EMT and firefighter at the Jerusalem Township Fire Department. "I actually wanted to get an aerial shot of the view that we had, because the line was out the door and past our building."
While Dobrosky, the wife of a recently deceased former fire chief, waited in line, she started to feel unwell and took a seat, Tropf said.
"She thought she would feel better. It was her turn. She's got her ballot in hand," Tropf said. "She's ready to step up to the polls and she got to the machine and she fainted."
Luckily, a paramedic was nearby to administer aid. After first responders and checked Dobrosky's heart rate, Tropf said Dobrosky had other worries on her mind: "'I hope nobody saw me or recognized me. And do I still get to vote?'"
"We made sure that she was reassured there's nothing to be embarrassed about and you're here, let's get you voted," Tropf said. "So here she is sitting on her stretcher now, we raised her up, we pushed that stretcher over to the voting box and Miss Bonnie was able to cast her vote that day."
Tropf said Dobrosky was elated to still be able to vote, which the first responders were dedicated to making happen.
"We did a great job and I'm proud of everybody that was on scene and present for her from the time," Tropf said. "From the time it happened to the time we took her in it, it's a team effort. We made it happen for her."
Dobrosky has recovered and is in good spirits after the incident, Tropf said.