Villa Park Police Sergeant Brian Hruby has received a Life-Saving Award for helping an 81-year-old passenger who collapsed during a family cruise in May 2025.

The Villa Park Police Department presented the honor at a Village Board meeting, recognizing an emergency response that began far from his regular duties.

Hruby was vacationing with his wife, Dawn, when the passenger collapsed in front of him.

Off duty and out of uniform, he stepped in immediately and performed CPR compressions until the ship’s medical personnel arrived.

Both the ship’s doctor and the emergency room doctor who later treated the passenger onshore credited Hruby’s actions with saving the man’s life.

The passenger’s family later contacted Dawn with an encouraging update: he was doing much better, and they considered her husband a hero.

For Villa Park, the award recognizes more than a quick response in an unfamiliar setting and celebrates the compassion and willingness to help that Hruby brought to a stranger’s moment of need.

Join us in congratulating Sgt. Hruby on this recognition and thanking him for stepping forward when someone needed him most.