An officer in North East, Maryland, heroically saved a girl from getting hit by a car by pushing her out of the way while getting struck by the vehicle herself.
Corporal Annette Goodyear of the North East Police Department could be seen on a traffic camera raising her hand to conduct traffic at a crosswalk as a North East Middle School student hurried across the road, but the oncoming car did not stop.
Seeing that the car was not going to stop and was going to collide with the student, the 14-year police veteran pushed the student out of the way, only to be struck herself. The driver stopped and got out to attend to Goodyear along with several bystanders.
“Out of the corner of my eye, I just see this blur. Everything happened so quickly,” Goodyear reflected. “I could feel the pain in my knees and my arms hitting the hood of the car. It took me a few seconds to realize that this did just happen. I just remember laying on the ground and looking up, and the first thing I thought was, ‘where is the student?’”
Goodyear said that out of her 14 years on the job, she has never seen a car drive so recklessly through a crosswalk.
The brave officer said it was her training and being a mother herself that caused her to risk her life for the student.
“This is a kid, and I’m an adult. No matter what happens, you got to protect that child and make sure that child is safe,” Goodyear said. “That was the only thing that was going through my mind. If I have to take the brunt of it, that’s what’s going to happen.”
Corporal John Fakner praised Goodyear for her quick reaction time and selfless impulse.
“We’re just extremely proud of her actions,” he said. “It was a split-second reaction that saved a child from potential injury. A job well done.”
Goodyear was transported to the hospital after the accident with minor injuries and was later discharged. The first thing she did was go to check up on the student at her home after being told she took the day off school after the accident.
“It was emotional,” Goodyear said. “I had to personally see that she was okay.”
Cecil County executive Danielle Hornberger called Goodyear an “amazing woman” and said she talked with North East Mayor Michael Kline to award Goodyear for her actions, explaining that the town was “already working on commendations for her bravery and swift action.”
Lieutenant Michael Holmes of the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office stated that the driver was cited for multiple violations, including negligent driving, failure to stop for a pedestrian at a crosswalk, failure to stop at a yield sign before entering the crosswalk and driving with an expired registration plate.
