DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - A Decatur man is being recognized as a hero after pulling a woman and her two young children from their smoking vehicle just moments before it burst into flames.
Clay Gerhard received the Stephen Decatur Medal Monday night during the Decatur City Council meeting, where Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe honored him for his life-saving actions.
WAND spoke with the woman involved in the incident. She reported that she had just picked up her sons from school around 2 p.m. and was driving south on U.S. 51 toward South Shores when her vehicle suddenly malfunctioned.
She explained that the steering locked up, the brakes failed, and “everything just quit.”
Despite the situation, she managed to pull over to the side of the road and put the vehicle in park. With smoke already billowing from the car, she rolled down her window and waved for help.
About two minutes later, Gerhard—who is also the Executive Director of the Decatur Park District—noticed the vehicle on the side of the road. He pulled over in front of it and approached to check on the family. After speaking with the mother, he quickly moved his truck behind her vehicle and called dispatch.
The mother informed Gerhard that the car had been smoking earlier, prompting him to urgently tell her to get the boys out. As the vehicle’s battery began to catch fire, she attempted to open the doors, but they were locked.
Without hesitation, Gerhard reached through the driver’s side to pull the boys out of the backseat and moved the family to safety.
The woman said, seconds later, the vehicle caught fire.
Fire crews arrived and extinguished the flames.
City leaders commended Gerhard’s quick thinking and decisive actions, crediting him with preventing what could have been a tragic outcome.
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