Adult Good Samaritan
It was an unlikely string of events.
He’s not the kind of guy to run out of gas. He’s too careful.
But on July 23, after seeing his gas tank was unusually low, Herald got off the freeway to find a gas station, and got lost.
By chance, Herald ended up on Alderwood Mall Boulevard, and although he’s never been a stunt driver, began acting like one.
A nearby driver’s car bounced off a concrete wall and scraped along its side. As he approached in his Jeep Grand Cherokee, Herald could see the driver slumped over the wheel.
He followed the car for a while, trying to figure out what to do. A hill was coming up, and at the bottom of the hill was an intersection.
Herald matched his speed with the car and performed a maneuver he calls "docking," gently colliding with the car to slow its speed.
"It put a dimple in my bumper and a dent in her car," Herald said. "The bumpers didn’t match up."
Herald remembers his car straddling the yellow line in the road. "I thought if I drove in the center lane, it would alert oncoming traffic that something was up, he said. "There was a lot of swerving and horn blowing."
A few seconds later, he was able to stop the woman’s car. The 55-year-old driver had suffered a heart attack, and passersby summed paramedics.
"Mr. Herald’s act was selfless," Lynnwood police Sgt. Jon Grabinski wrote in a nomination letter for the award. "His action potentially prevented a head-on collision."
Herald said he tried to put the incident behind him, in part because he was told — incorrectly — that the woman had died from her heart attack.
"I wrote it off as I gave it my best shot; that was the end of it," he said.
But it wasn’t. Lynnwood police later contacted him and told him the woman had survived.
"That turned everything around," the Everett resident said. "Suddenly, it was more significant and more important to me.
"A bizarre thing like that happens and it makes you think: Why was I on that road?"
Firefighter Rescue Award &Military Rescue Award
When a 33-year-old jogger collapsed from a heart attack at Naval Station Everett on Aug. 18, a crew from the Puget Sound Federal Fire Department helped save his life.
Nold, Flatterrich, Hudson and Rhude arrived within a minute of being summoned. They found a man whose eyes were fixed, who didn’t have a pulse and wasn’t breathing, Nold said.
The team conducted CPR for more than 10 minutes before the man’s pulse and breathing were restored.
He was transferred to Providence Everett Medical Center and placed on life support. His chances of survival were thought to be grim, according to documents submitted to the Red Cross about the event.
But his vital signs improved and he went home on Aug. 30. Doctors later implanted a pacemaker in his chest, and he has made a full recovery.
Nold said it was the eighth "save" of his 13-year career working as a civilian for the fire agency.
Passersby Duck and Pheasant were first on the scene. They called for help and began CPR on the jogger, earning them the hero awards for a military rescue.
Medical Rescue Award
In nearly three years of driving a delivery van for The Everett Clinic, Rabourn has taken on a second unofficial job: performing first aid.
In the 65,000 miles he racks up behind the wheel every year, accidents seem to come in spurts. "Sometimes I’m lucky, I go a month" without an accident, he said. "Sometimes five weeks, and then there’s three to four incidents right in a row."
On Oct. 30, a truck pulling a travel trailer and another vehicle collided near Stanwood High School. The truck’s driver looked lifeless; his head had hit the windshield and he was badly cut.
Rabourn tried to stop the bleeding and stayed with the driver until help arrived.
Rabourn credits Red Cross training he has received with helping at the scene of accidents like the one that earned him a hero nomination.
"Without the training … I don’t feel I would have been able to assist as often as I do," Rabourn said.
Youth Good Samaritan Award
Iverson went to Martha Lake on June 27 to cool off with some friends and ended up saving a life.
When the 17-year-old heard a woman screaming that her boyfriend was drowning, Iverson dove off a swimming dock into about 8 feet of murky water.
He brought the man to the surface, and a crew from Fire District 1 arrived, taking over rescue efforts.
The man survived and was taken to Providence Everett Medical Center.
Community Collaboration Award
The award was given to Drewel as a kind of lifetime achievement award for his service to social service groups in Snohomish County.
"His commitment level was extraordinary for nonprofit, social service and human services, far beyond what was required or expected, said James Shipman, chairman of the local Red Cross chapter’s board. "We will not likely in our lifetime see another political figure that will give that level to the community."
Drewel’s commitment "wasn’t just for form or for the office," Shipman added. "He did it for the community in a big way."
Animal Rescue Award
In his letter of nomination, Craig Sunderland said he has often seen Forsell near the Everett marina feeding and caring for abandoned and homeless cats.
Forsell said she began feeding the homeless cats about 3 1/2 years ago while she and her father walked their dog.
"It’s so sad," Forsell said. "These beautiful cats, they’re just put out there. … I go down every day and feed them."
She spends hours each week trying to find homes for each abandoned cat, Sunderland said.
Education Rescue Award
Bickford, a music teacher at Serene Lake Elementary School, was supervising students in the lunchroom when she heard a student yell for help, pointing to a nearby boy who appeared to be choking. Bickford performed the Heimlich maneuver on the 10-year-old, clearing his airway.
Police Officer Award
Atwood, a Monroe police officer, is proud of receiving the Red Cross award, but said it’s "the little ones going through chemotherapy" who are the real heroes.
That’s why he helped organize the Chief for a Day event for children battling major illnesses or who are physically disabled.
"It’s meant to basically take their minds of their sickness … so they can be happy," he said.
Nothing in particular spurred him to try to organize the event this year, Atwood said. "I love kids, as do most police officers. I just asked the (Monroe police chief) if we could make it happen.
"A lot of times, people see the rough and demanding side of law enforcement," he added. "This is a time where we get to see the human side."
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
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