Crime & Safety
Geneva 'Heroes' Recognized For Saving Woman From Burning Car
The teens helped get an unconscious woman out of a burning car following a crash on I-88.
GENEVA, IL -- Two hometown heroes were recognized during a Geneva City Council meeting this past week. John Schneider and Kyle O'Malley, Geneva teens who are both cadets in the Lincolnshire Law Enforcement Explorer Program, are credited with saving the life of an unconscious woman following a fiery crash on the Reagan Tollway earlier this month.
The teens were headed home, traveling west on Interstate 88 on Aug. 11, 2018, when they saw "two fireballs" in the westbound lanes. They pulled to the shoulder and ran over to a burning vehicle. When they got there, Schneider said he saw a woman in the passenger's seat, slumped over and unconscious.
He told the Geneva City Council during Monday's meeting that he tried to break the windshield with a flashlight. When that didn't work, he ran over to a semi that had stopped in the roadway and asked for his fire extinguisher.
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With that, he extinguished enough of the blaze so Schneider, O'Malley and another Good Samaritan who responded to help could work to open the doors, which were jammed shut from the crash. The trio was able to get the woman out of the car.
"...this community is proud of you," Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns said.
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Burns read a proclamation at the meeting and declared Aug. 21 Kyle O’Malley and John Schneider Hometown Heroes Day.
PHOTO CAPTION: (RIGHT) Kevin O'Malley and John Schneider/PHOTO VIA YOUTUBE
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