Life-saving teamwork. (The Goodness of America).(Brief Article)

Prior to April 1st, Air Force Staff Sergeant Jon Fremstad and Wisconsin State Trooper George Riedel had not met, but their paths crossed that day to save the life of a child seriously injured in an automobile accident.

Ruthie Hopkins of St. Cloud, Minnesota, and her three-year-old daughter, Infinity Abdullah, were driving through La Crosse, Wisconsin, on April 1st when their 1995 GMC Yukon went out of control, rolled down an embankment, and tipped over. Staff Sergeant Fremstad witnessed the accident while on his way to Camp Douglas, where he is assigned to the 128th Air Control Squadron. He promptly called 911, flagged down two passing motorists for assistance, then ran to the overturned vehicle.

He did not see the child inside, so first helped her mother, who had a broken pelvis. When she told him about her daughter, he searched the hillside assuming that she had been thrown from the SUV. When he could not find her, he checked further inside the car where, as reported by the Associated Press, he "saw a small part of Infinity's arm underneath the roof ... near the back window. He used a jack to raise the vehicle and after a short debate with one of the other motorists about whether to move her, he pulled her clear."

Fremstad later recalled, "I grew up on a farm, and I've seen a lot of dead things. She was dead." He felt for a pulse and thought for a ...