Local man receives Citizen Hero Award for saving woman from burning car

HEROISM. TODAY, WHEN ONE OF THE PEOPLE HONORING YOU IS ACTUALLY THE WOMAN WHOSE LIFE YOU SAVED. IT DOESN’T GET ANY SWEETER THAN THAT. THAT’S RIGHT. WESH 2 NEWS DAVE MCDANIEL WAS ON HAND IN CASSELBERRY TODAY FOR THE BIG CELEBRATION. BY THE TIME WE GOT ON SCENE, WE HAD A ONE VEHICLE THAT WAS FULLY INVOLVED. SEMINOLE COUNTY FIRE RESCUE WAS ON SCENE IN JUST THREE MINUTES. SUPER FAST. DONNIE DOHERTY WAS THERE AND SECONDS BACK IN FEBRUARY, I WAS THE FIRST PERSON CLOSEST TO THE ACCIDENT SCENE AND THERE WAS NO WAY THAT I COULDN’T AT LEAST TRY TO LEND SOME SORT OF ASSISTANCE, DOHERTY SAYS. HE WAS DRIVING BY AND THAT HE HEARD THE VIOLENT CRASH BEHIND HIM. HE PULLED A U-TURN, SAW THE CAR ALREADY ON FIRE. KNOWING HE HAD TO ACT. I’M KICKING THE WINDSHIELD. I’M YELLING, YOU KNOW. IS ANYBODY IN THERE? IS ANYBODY IN THERE KICKING? DIDN’T WORK, SO WE STARTED CLOBBERING THE WINDSHIELD WITH A SHOVEL. HE HAD NO IDEA HOW MANY MIGHT BE IN THE BURNING CAR, OR IF THEY WERE ALIVE. AT THAT POINT, I COVERED MY JACKET AND I WAS HAVING MY MOMENT WITH GOD. I SAID, GOD, IF THIS IS MY TIME TO GO, PLEASE JUST TAKE CARE OF MY SON. AND THEN I HEARD, IS ANYONE IN THERE? I FINALLY GOT A HOLD. PROBABLY ABOUT THIS BIG AND AT AT THAT TIME I SAW A HAND WAVE. LIKE I JUST SAW A HAND THROUGH THE SMOKE AND I HEARD HER. HELP ME, HELP ME. THAT’S WHEN I HEARD THAT VOICE. AND I BANGED ON THE WINDOW. GET ME OUT. AND THEN HE PROCEEDED TO CRACK THE WINDSHIELD AND BEGAN TO BREAK ME OUT. TO BE CLEAR, IF IT WASN’T FOR DONNIE, GINA WOULDN’T BE HERE TODAY. AS QUICKLY AS WE GOT THERE, UM, THE FIRE HAD PROGRESSED SO FAR THAT IT WAS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SURVIVABLE. THIS WAS A DAY TO REWARD DONNIE DOHERTY WITH A CITIZENS HERO AWARD. ALSO, A DAY TO INSPIRE AND FOR BOTH FAMILIES TO COUNT THEIR COLLECTIVE MEANING TO ONE ANOTHER. I’M FORTUNATE TO BE HERE WITH MY FAMILY AND HER FAMILY. THAT’S IT. HE PUT HIMSELF AT RISK FOR ME A STRANGER, AND BECAUSE OF HIS HEROIC ACT, I’M HERE. BOTH FAMILIES NOW FEEL A CLOSENESS FORGED THROUGH STRENGTH AND COMPASSION. IN SEMINOLE COUNTY, DAVE MCDANIEL, WESH TWO NEWS. WELL, DAUGHTER’S DAUGHTER WAS PURSUING A CAREER IN THE HEALTH FIELD, BUT NOW INTEN

Donny Daugherty, a local resident, was recognized for his heroic act of saving a woman from a burning car earlier this year.”I was the first person closest to the accident scene, so there was no way I couldn’t at least try to lend some sort of assistance,” Daugherty said.Daugherty was driving by when he heard the violent crash. He immediately made a U-turn and saw the car already on fire.”I’m kicking the windshield, ‘Is anybody in there? Is anybody in there?'” Daugherty said.When kicking didn’t work, Daugherty started breaking the windshield with a shovel. He had no idea how many people might be in the burning car, or if they were alive.”At that point, I covered with my jacket, and I was having my moment with God. I said, ‘God, if this is my time to go, please take care of my son,’ and then I heard, ‘Is anyone in there?” Gina Ligonde, the woman Daugherty rescued, said.”I finally got a hole, probably about this big, and then I saw a hand wave, I saw a hand wave through the smoke, and I heard her say, ‘help me, help me,'” Daugherty said.”That’s when I heard that voice, I banged on the window, ‘Get me out! Get me out!’ Then he proceeded to crack the windshield and the work to get me out,” Ligonde added.Fire rescue arrived on the scene within three minutes. “To be clear, if it wasn’t for Donny, Gina wouldn’t be here today. As quickly as we got there, the fire had progressed so much it would not have been survivable,” said Matt Kinley, Seminole County Fire Department chief.In recognition of his bravery, Daugherty was presented with a Citizen Hero Award. “I’m fortunate to be here with my family and her family, that’s it,” Daugherty said.”He put himself at risk for me, a stranger, and because of his heroic acts, I’m here,” Ligonde said, expressing her gratitude.The incident has forged a bond between the two families, a closeness born out of strength and compassion. Daugherty’s college daughter now plans to pursue a career as a firefighter.

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. —

Donny Daugherty, a local resident, was recognized for his heroic act of saving a woman from a burning car earlier this year.

“I was the first person closest to the accident scene, so there was no way I couldn’t at least try to lend some sort of assistance,” Daugherty said.

Daugherty was driving by when he heard the violent crash. He immediately made a U-turn and saw the car already on fire.

“I’m kicking the windshield, ‘Is anybody in there? Is anybody in there?'” Daugherty said.

When kicking didn’t work, Daugherty started breaking the windshield with a shovel. He had no idea how many people might be in the burning car, or if they were alive.

“At that point, I covered with my jacket, and I was having my moment with God. I said, ‘God, if this is my time to go, please take care of my son,’ and then I heard, ‘Is anyone in there?” Gina Ligonde, the woman Daugherty rescued, said.

“I finally got a hole, probably about this big, and then I saw a hand wave, I saw a hand wave through the smoke, and I heard her say, ‘help me, help me,'” Daugherty said.

“That’s when I heard that voice, I banged on the window, ‘Get me out! Get me out!’ Then he proceeded to crack the windshield and the work to get me out,” Ligonde added.

Fire rescue arrived on the scene within three minutes.

“To be clear, if it wasn’t for Donny, Gina wouldn’t be here today. As quickly as we got there, the fire had progressed so much it would not have been survivable,” said Matt Kinley, Seminole County Fire Department chief.

In recognition of his bravery, Daugherty was presented with a Citizen Hero Award.

“I’m fortunate to be here with my family and her family, that’s it,” Daugherty said.

“He put himself at risk for me, a stranger, and because of his heroic acts, I’m here,” Ligonde said, expressing her gratitude.

The incident has forged a bond between the two families, a closeness born out of strength and compassion.

Daugherty’s college daughter now plans to pursue a career as a firefighter.

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