Woman Saved Child From Being Dropped From Interstate 95 Overpass

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA — Christine Dawn King jumped into action.

It was on an Interstate 95 overpass on a July night two years ago when King saved an 18-month-old girl from harm.

Her heroic actions earned King a presentation and plaque from the prestigious Carnegie Hero Fund Commission before the Bensalem Township Council at a recent meeting.

The girl's father was threatening to drop her from a highway overpass, said Eric Zarin, the commission's president and board chairman of the 120-year-old foundation who made the presentation.

Zarin read the official summary of King's heroic act from the commission's records before presenting her with the Carnegie Medal for Heroism.

Zarin said the mother had attempted to remove the girl from the assailant's grasp but was unsuccessful.

King, who was also traveling on the highway, intervened and managed to prevent the assailant from dropping the child. The police arrived and took the assailant into custody, and the mother and child were unharmed.

The 52-year-old caretaker parked and exited her vehicle. Zarin said the assailant threatened to shoot her. She grasped around his torso before he finally gave the girl to a police officer and then to King, Zarin said.

King received a plague and flowers at the end of the presentation.

King and her husband expressed their gratitude to the council for recognizing her bravery.

.The commission's deed of trust provides a $5 million fund to recognize heroes and their families, with grants including continuing support, scholarship assistance, and death benefits.

Over the life of the fund, more than $40 million has been given to over 10,000 awardees or their survivors.