The Maryland crossing guard who saved a middle school student by pushing her out of the way of an oncoming car said the rescue “didn’t seem real as it was happening.”
North East Police Department Cpl. Annette Goodyear said she didn’t think about how she may have put herself in harm’s way when she ran into the crosswalk to help get the child to safety in front of North East Middle School on Friday.
“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 told Fox5 DC.
While the child was unharmed, Goodyear was left lying on the ground in pain from being clipped by the car.
“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 said. “It didn’t seem real as it was happening.”
She was brought to the hospital, where she was treated for her minor injuries. But once she was discharged, she visited the student to check up on her at home.
“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 told the news station.
“I was just so thankful she was standing there and that she was ok,” she added.
Local officials have hailed Goodyear as a hero.
“It was an amazing act of heroism,” County Executive Danielle Hornberger told the outlet.
“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.”
The driver has been cited for negligent driving, failure to stop at yield sign before entering crosswalk, failure to stop for pedestrian in crosswalk and driving with an expired registration plate, authorities said.