A hero is born: ‘Angel babies’ save the life of Texas woman
Published: March 29, 2007
Elizabeth Testerman was driving from her brother’s house in Marion to her son’s house in Noblesville on Jan. 9, 2006, during a vacation trip to Indiana when an accident almost cut her life short.
Testerman, 54, Grand Prairie, Texas, lost control of the sport utility vehicle she was driving near the Tipton-Madison county line. The car left the roadway, went down an embankment and struck a concrete culvert. The impact knocked her unconscious and trapped her in the vehicle.
Passing motorists freed Testerman from the SUV just moments before the vehicle erupted into flames.
Elwood resident David McCartney and Clayton resident Lee Pierce received the Carnegie Medal for their heroism that day.
According to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, despite 4-foot flames on the front of Testerman’s vehicle, McCartney kicked in the remaining portion of the windshield and along with Pierce cut the seat belt holding Testerman in the vehicle and pulled her to safety.
“I submitted their names,” Testerman told the Kokomo Tribune during a telephone interview. “They are my angel babies. If it had not been for them, I would have died that night.”
Testerman, who was born in Marion, had returned to Indiana to visit her son and grandchildren and traveled to Grant County to visit with her brother. The accident occurred on her way back to Noblesville.
“It was a fine day,” she recalled. “There was no ice or snow on the roads. I lost control of the car when I reached for an inhaler in my purse. I wasn’t used to the vehicle and went off the road.”
The SUV struck an embankment and knocked her unconscious.
“I was on fire and in a panic,” Testerman said when she regained consciousness. “I couldn’t get out of the seat belt in the car. All of a sudden they were there trying to cut me out of the car. They came through the windshield.”
Police officers told Testerman that minutes after she was extracted from the car, the vehicle exploded. She said there is nothing left of the SUV but charred metal.
She was treated at Mercy Hospital in Elwood and then transferred to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.
“I would have died,” she said a second time. “I suffered second-degree burns on my feet. I still have some burned toenails, but I have toes. I’m never going to complain.”
Testerman said she talks to Pierce and McCartney on a regular basis.
“They didn’t know me from Adam,” she said. “They stopped and put their lives in danger to save a stranger.”
Testerman said she told McCartney and Pierce to never do that again, but she believes the warning fell on deaf ears.
“They will do it again,” she said of the pair. “They are so deserving of the recognition. So many times the heroes end up with the worst of it.”
Testerman said there was a third stranger that helped save her life that night, but he remains unknown.
“Lee [Pierce] was the main one,” she said. “Until Lee got there everyone was trying to decide how to get me out. He came in and started cutting the seat belt. If not for Lee, I would still have been in that car.”
Testerman and her husband, a firefighter for the Dallas Fire Department, offered Pierce and McCartney a reward which was declined. The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission provided both with a $5,000 grant.
“I was pleased they were recognized,” she said. “I told them not to spend the money on everyday bills.”
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: