Cpl. Annette Goodyear made history in 2008 by becoming her town's first female police officer. She has been exemplary since then, but on the rainy morning of February 4 she changed the course of history again.
This time, for a middle school girl whose life many believe she may have saved.
Cpl. Goodyear was working crossing guard duty that morning when a car failed to stop and headed straight for the child as she was crossing. Goodyear was able to get the child out of the way just in time.
Unfortunately, Cpl. Goodyear was not able to get out of the way and was hit as the vehicle tried, but failed, to stop. The impact knocked Goodyear to the ground where the car narrowly missed running over her as the driver swerved and braked trying to control the vehicle.
Cpl Goodyear stayed laying in the road as people, including the driver, came rushing to check on her. The stunned child checked on Goodyear quickly before running to look for more help.
Security cameras caught the entire accident, which Cecil County Public Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Lawson posted on Twitter.
He hailed Goodyear as a "hero police officer."
It's a title most people agreed with.
Some called out the department that put Goodyear there without hand-held signs that are much easier for drivers to see and obey.
The police department and Superintendent will undoubtedly be looking into the incident and making procedural changes designed to prevent this from happening again.
In the meantime, Cpl. Goodyear and the child both get to live to see another day.
Goodyear was taken to the hospital for examination and released with only minor injuries. She immediately went to check on the child after her release.
The reunion was emotional for everyone.
Goodyear told news outlets:
"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."
"I was just so thankful she was standing there and that she was ok."
Fox 5 covered the incident.
The driver was given multiple citations for things like failure to stop for a pedestrian, failure to yield at a crosswalk, expired registration and negligent driving.
