Cecil County crossing guard hit by car, saves student
NORTH EAST, Md. - A crossing guard, who saved a student from being hit by a car on Friday, is being called a hero by the North East community.
The heroic rescue, caught on camera, shows Corporal Annette Goodyear from the North East Police Department risk her life for a student crossing the street.
The video shows Goodyear pushing the young girl out of harm's way, and sacrificing her own body as she's struck by a car speeding through the crosswalk.
Goodyear has been a crossing guard for 14 years. She told FOX 5's Perris Jones she's never had an incident like this, and that her initial reaction was to move the student out of the way.
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"It was strange. As I’m lying there I’m thinking to myself this actually did happen. I didn’t even know what to think about at that point," Goodyear recalled. "It didn’t seem real as it was happening."
"For me, I’m a parent as well, and it’s like I just want to make sure all these children are safe, and it didn’t matter if I was struck or not," she added.
Once Goodyear was able to leave the hospital, she went back to the school to check on the student.
She was told that the child was shaken up and went back home with her family, so Corporal Goodyear says she decided to stop by.
"She came down the stairs saw me standing there and as she was walking toward the door she was getting teary-eyed, and you could see it and when she got teary-eyed, then her dad started getting teary-eyed, and we all started at that point," Goodyear said. "I was just so thankful she was standing there and that she was ok."
FOX 5 also spoke to the Cecil County Executive, who said she is "incredibly grateful for what Corporal Goodyear did."
"It was an amazing act of heroism," said County Executive Danielle Hornberger. "Truly that is what we envision of to protect and serve. That’s what we want in our community, and it’s just humbling; it's breathtaking; it’s amazing, and we’re just so proud to have Corporal Goodyear in our community."
Corporal Goodyear says she wants to thank everyone in the community for their support. She's currently at home resting.
The Cecil County Sheriff's Office said the driver of the vehicle was issued four citations, including negligent driving and failure to stop at a yield sign before entering a crosswalk.