Area Residents Honored For Saving Lives

Jon Lane and Chad Edward Eastep risked their lives to stop two rampaging gunmen earlier this year.

On Thursday, the two Inland Northwest residents were honored at the Governor’s Industrial Safety & Health Conference.

Gov. Mike Lowry presented Lane, Eastep and 22 other heroes with Lifesaving Awards.

Lane, a physical education teacher at Frontier Junior High School in Moses Lake, is credited with saving a classroom full of students when he overpowered accused murderer Barry Loukaitis and held the boy until police could disarm him.

Loukaitis is charged with murder in the February incident that left three people dead and another wounded.

Authorities say Eastep, security director at Spokane’s Ridpath Hotel, saved dozens of people from death or injury when he confronted a crazed gunman in a hotel restaurant.

Orville Sassen, 78, had just shot a waitress to death, wounded a manager and was looking for more targets when Eastep ran into the restaurant with his gun drawn.

After seeing Eastep, Sassen fatally shot himself in the head.

, DataTimes