Patrolman John Simon DeRubbo

John Simon DeRubbo

Patrolman DeRubbo suffered a fatal heart attack following an emergency response involving an ill woman.

He and another officer were sent to the woman's residence on a welfare check. Patrolman DeRubbo then drove the woman from her residence to Pittsburgh Hospital in the city of Pittsburgh for approximately three miles at emergency speeds and through rush hour traffic. As Patrolman DeRubbo and his partner returned to their patrol car he suffered a fatal heart attack in the driver's seat. Help was summoned and he was taken into the emergency room where he was pronounced dead.

Patrolman DeRubbo was survived by his wife and three kids. He was a well known football player in the area and had previously served with the Rankin Borough Police Department. He was seriously wounded in a shooting with a suspicious person on October 3rd, 1928, while serving as a Rankin Police officer.