8th grade Hero in Dracut
A heroic, fast-thinking eighth-grader from Dracut will be honored today at the State House with the Citizen Safety Award for saving her sister’s life when a careening car was bearing down on them in a parking lot last summer.
Kylie Cormick, 13, will receive the honor for pulling her 5-year-old sister out of harm’s way after a man suffered a health problem and accidentally accelerated his car through a restaurant parking lot headed in their direction.
The out-of-control ride came to an end when the car crashed into a building in the Aug. 30, 2004, incident.
“Kylie is a very positive kid and really strong community member,” said Walter Landberg, the young teenager’sprincipal at the charter Murdoch Middle School in Chelmsford.
“I wasn’t surprised that she did what she did,” her principal added about Kylie’s presence of mind and quick action in the moments the car was coming toward her sister.
The 13-year-old girl’s actions were also praised by the police who responded to the scene that day.
Massachusetts Safety Officers League spokesman Bob Barry said the Chelmsford police officer who investigated the near-tragedy said Kylie’s little sister, Megan Cormick, certainly would have been hit by the careening vehicle had it not been for the quick actions of her older sister.
