As Sara Vendetti hung out of the front seat of her SUV, her foot stuck in the driver’s side door, rolling down the shoulder of Interstate 81 with cars oncoming, one thought came to her mind.
“My kids are going to watch me die,” said Sara. “It was raining. It was along 81. Cars were going by. I could hear yelling; I assume it was the kids.”
Those children were her son Marshall, a third grader at Weeks Elementary, and his three-year-old brother, Paxton. But, instead of three lives being tragically altered, they were saved – thanks to Marshall.
Sara had pulled over to the side of the road when Paxton began choking. As she rushed to tend to Paxton, she accidentally put the car in reverse, not park, leading to her being trapped and dragged down the highway.
That’s when Marshall jumped in the front seat.
“I turned the steering wheel. (The car) was going into a fence so I wanted to get it to go away from the fence,” said Marshall. “I went up to drive and tried to park, but I hit ‘B’ (on the gear shift). I thought I parked it, but it was the brake.”
The car stopped, Paxton vomited, and was no longer choking, and Sara freed herself from the car door. The bottom line: everyone was safe, thanks to Marshall’s quick thinking.
“It’s incredible he knew what to do. I’m very thankful, thankful for him. I’m lucky,” said Sara.
“I was scared and worried. I had anxiety when I was doing it,” said Marshall. “I was crying. I went on my iPad and tried to take my mind off it. I moved my seat back a little, and I tried to lie down.”
Sara was also overwhelmed.
“I don’t know that I was having thoughts yet. It took a while for it to click what happened. I was crying a lot,” said Sara.
Marshall’s efforts earned him the American Red Cross Real Heroes Award. He and his mother will be honored at a breakfast in Binghamton on May 14th. It will be a reminder of an almost-tragic night, and a step in putting the event behind them.
“I think (the award) is great because he was super traumatized by it. He has anxiety still about getting in the car, going with his brother, or getting in the car when it’s raining,” said Sara. “His being recognized for doing a good thing will help him.”