The driver who struck Annette Goodyear was issued four traffic citations.
On a rainy Friday morning, on February 4, 2022, North East Police Department Cpl. Annette Goodyear was helping children cross the street to get to school. When one student wearing a hoodie approached the crosswalk, she saw a car was speeding towards the crosswalk.
Goodyear immediately tried to get the speeding car to stop but in vain. The car suddenly came speeding towards the crosswalk—all while the child was making her way across the road. "Everything just happened so quickly," the veteran police officer told The Washington Post. "It just didn't seem real."
The cop immediately pushed the student to safety and got hit by the car in the process. Goodyear, who was not immediately able to get off the ground, said that after being hit her top priority was to make sure the student was okay, per PEOPLE.
"I just remember laying on the ground and looking up, and the first thing I thought was 'where is the student?' " she recalled. Though the student was not injured, she couldn't stop panicking over what had happened. "I felt horrible, because I couldn't just jump up and grab a hold of her and say, 'everything is okay,' " she added.
The brave and kind police officer suffered only minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital, WJZ reported. She was released later that day. When Goodyear was asked what exactly was going through her mind when she saw the speeding car approach them, she said her instinct to save the kid stemmed from being a mother of three.
"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," she 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."
"We're just extremely proud of her actions," remarked Cpl. John Fakner of the North East Police Department. "It was a split-second reaction that saved a child from potential injury. A job well done."
In fact, Goodyear just couldn't stop thinking about the girl that she went to meet the student as soon as she was released from the hospital. "She came down the stairs, saw me standing there, and as she was walking toward the door she was getting teary-eyed," the officer told WTTG.
"Then her dad started getting teary-eyed, and we all started at that point," Goodyear added. "I was just so thankful she was standing there and that she was okay."
Meanwhile, the driver who struck Goodyear was issued four traffic citations. "They were for negligent driving, driving on an expired registration plate, failing to stop at a pedestrian in a crosswalk, and failing to stop at a yield sign before entering a crosswalk when required to do so," a spokesperson for the Cecil County Sheriff's Office said.
The officer is now being hailed a hero by many, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. "I will be awarding a governor's citation to Annette Goodyear for her incredible heroism in putting herself at risk to save a young student from being hit by an oncoming car," Hogan announced on February 8, 2022.
Cecil County executive Danielle Hornberger has also said that North East Mayor Michael Kline plans to honor the officer as well. "It was an amazing act of heroism," Hornberger said. "It's breathtaking; it's amazing, and we're just so proud to have Corporal Goodyear in our community."
Added Cecil County Public Schools in a separate statement, "We are forever grateful for the selfless response of this hero."
References:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/02/07/crossing-guard-saved-student-maryland/\
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/cecil-county-crossing-guard-hit-by-car-saves-student
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=321372600004547
Cover Image Source: Facebook | Cecil County Public Schools
