Maryland Officer Meets Girl She Saved From Car At Crosswalk
NORTH EAST, Md. (WJZ) -- The North East Police Corporal who went viral for saving a student from being hit by a car was honored in Cecil County Wednesday.
An officer's quick thinking saved a young girl's life.
"Just doing what I had to do to make us both safe," Cpl. Annette Goodyear said.
Corporal Goodyear is being hailed as a hero after the harrowing moment was caught on camera. It happened last Friday while she was working as a crossing guard outside North East Middle School.
You see her in the video signal for oncoming traffic to stop, so 11-year-old Violet Watt can cross.
"I was talking to her, saying 'Good Morning. Hope you have a good day,'" Cpl. Goodyear said. "
One driver doesn't stop.
"I could see out of the corner of my eye that the car was coming," Cpl. Goodyear said. "At that point, it was just a blur."
Without skipping a beat, Corporal Goodyear pushed Violet out of the way, getting hit by the car herself.
"My first instinct was to find Violet," Cpl. Goodyear said. "So, I lifted my head up and I looked around and I saw her standing there. At that point, I was like, okay, now I've got to make sure I'm okay."
Both are okay after the incident. The driver has been charged with several traffic violations.
The video has gone viral, reaching many across the country.
Officer Goodyear can't believe it.
"I don't like the attention," she said. "I'm not used to it."
The North East community and Violet came out to honor her with awards for her bravery Wednesday.
"I just think we focus on the positive and that's what we're going to continue doing, and raising awareness for police officers and people who are front line heroes honestly," Meagan Watt, Violet's mother, said.
Out of all the thank you's she's received, Corporal Goodyear sayid the most important one she got was from Violet.
"I tell brothers and sisters in blue, firefighters, paramedics, I tell them all when they do good jobs that they're heroes, too," Corporal Goodyear said. "I just never expected it to be said to me, because I just feel like this is my job. This is what we're trained to do and see here to serve and protect and that's what I did. "
The governor also recognized Corporal Goodyear earlier this week. The Cecil County Council and the School Board plan to honor her, too.
