Bement siblings honored with lifesaving award

BEMENT, Ill. (WAND)- What started as a normal day for siblings Simon and Megan McCullough quickly turned into a day they will never forget.

On Friday, Jan. 19, the McCulloughs were walking home from school when they heard their next door neighbor yelling.

"We heard Howard yelling out for help and I said 'Megan, he's on the ground yelling for help we have to go help him,'" said Simon McCullough.

"We froze and then we started running over there because we knew he really needed help and then we tried to get him inside," said Megan McCullough.

According to first responders at the scene, the wind chill that day was between -7 and -12 degrees. They say the elderly neighbor was not properly dressed for the weather.

The kids tried to help get the neighbor inside, but they couldn't. They then ran to look for help.

"I just happened to be driving home, when Megan and Simon ran out to the road and flagged me down," said Luke Smith, a Bement resident and neighbor to the McCulloughs."We weren't sure how long he'd been there. So we just we knew we needed to get him inside and once we got him inside, we just worked together to get him dry and warm and wait for EMS, and the EMTs arrive."

The first responders who helped the man said he is okay and could have been in much worse shape if the kids hadn't heard him.

All three people received a certificate of commendation and a lifesaving award today in a ceremony at Bement Elementary School. The students say they hope their actions inspire others to do the right thing.

"I'm happy that we were able to help him and track him down," said Simon. "When there's people that need help, you should help them instead of letting them get hurt worse."

"The world is a good place as long as there are kids like Megan and Simon," said Smith. "I don't know a lot of kids that would have stopped to help a stranger especially with the temperatures. I couldn't be more proud of them."