Woman Saves Elderly Man Being Dragged By Car At Morton Arboretum

LISLE, IL --- Sara Sadat has lived in Lisle for years, but she didn't decide to get a pass to Morton Arboretum until Tuesday. When Sadat and her husband decided to fully explore the Arboretum for the first time early Wednesday, they had no idea that this timing would help Sara save a 74-year-old man's life.

Sadat and her husband had just made a few loops around the arboretum's trails when she reminded him that he needed to get going to work. On their way back, Sadat saw something out of the corner of her eye.

A small Smart car had suddenly veered out of control and an elderly gentleman was hanging from the side of the vehicle.

Sadat said she doesn't know how the man lost control of his car, but she sprang to action. "It didn't matter because all I saw was a man in a parking lot where cars were coming from either way," she told Patch. "All I wanted to do was make sure he was OK."

The car had already dragged the man halfway to the curb when Sadat says she was able to help get the man out of his car and to stop the vehicle from rolling into a new 20-foot troll art installation at the arboretum.

Sadat and her husband, Raza Siddiqui, stayed with the man as they waited for the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Department to arrive. She says she does not know his condition, but that his left knee had been hurt when he fell during the accident.

Sadat, a painter, said she was thrilled to be in the right place at the right time after "picking up this hiking thing" between jobs. She was especially thrilled that she helped preserve the new troll installation, which is half-finished, too.

"Not only was a gentleman's life saved but I was able to save the life of the troll," she said, smiling.

Images courtesy of Sara Sadat/Raza Siddiqui