In an age plagued by fear, suspicion and potential lawsuits, there still exists a glimmer of hope in those willing to throw everything aside and help someone in need.
Two local residents were recently nominated for special awards through the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department because of their heroic actions in saving the life of an Attica woman.
Peter Hovland, 49, of Lakeville, and Cecelia Cash, 34, of Oxford Twp., have been nominated by Deputy Bruce Pearson, with the Addison Twp. substation, for the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department’s Citizens Citation for Heroic Service.
“This award is for going above and beyond the call of duty for an average citizen,” said Substation Commander Sgt. Pete Burkett. “These nominations will go before an awards council comprised of police and command officers that will review the different events and then hand out the awards.”
Hovland and Cash’s “heroic service” occurred on Nov. 29 when they pulled Lakeville native and current Attica resident Janet Jarvis, 60, from her overturned, burning sport utility vehicle.
According to the sheriff’s report, the accident happened around 8:20 a.m. on Saturday while Jarvis, who has worked for Oxford Bank for 20 years, was heading into work at the Rochester Rd. branch. She was driving southbound along Rochester Rd., near Drahner Rd., when she hit a patch of black ice. Deputy Pearson stated that even though she was going at a slow speed, the vehicle swerved out of control on the curve, went into the oncoming lane, rolled over in the ditch and slid into a nearby tree. The SUV caught fire almost immediately.
“The car was totally engulfed when I arrived,” said Pearson. “Within minutes after the crash it caught fire and took off fast.”
Fire Chief George Spencer confirmed the deputy’s findings.
“From our estimation, from what we saw at the scene and from what people were able to tell us, the car certainly caught fire almost immediately,” said Spencer. “We were on the scene in three and a half minutes and the vehicle was already fully engulfed.”
Cecelia Cash was the first person on the scene to assist Mrs. Jarvis. Cash said when she first saw the vehicle she thought it might be from an accident the night before and actually began to drive by the wreckage, but after passing the SUV she noticed the headlights were still lit.
“I knew at that point I had to stop,” Cash said. “A neighbor woman came running out and said that there were still people in there. I was frustrated because while I was there, there were cars that were actually driving through and passing.”
Peter Hovland, who works as the head swim coach at Oakland University, was the next person to stop and see about helping. He said he was on his way to a practice when he saw the accident. He remembers how amazed he was to see Mrs. Jarvis just hanging upside down by her seat belt.
“The vehicle was not on fire when I first got there,” Hovland explained. “We were able to get her to roll down her window and I was able to reach in and turn off the ignition. It was about that time I realized that I could smell something burning or melting.”
Cash also noticed the smell and realized smoke was starting to rise from around Jarvis’ feet.
“The only thing I thought was that I just had to get her out, that I had to save her,” said Cash. “I didn’t think, I just knew what to do.”
Through their joint efforts, the pair were able to wrench open the rear hatch of the SUV. Cecelia crawled through the burning vehicle, unhooked Mrs. Jarvis while Hovland supported her through the driver’s side window, and then cash dragged her to the rear hatchway.
“It was perfect, I was just the right fit to crawl through there,” said Cash.
“We all just kind of fell out the back end,” said Hovland.
Deputy Pearson and Addison Twp. firefighters arrived minutes after this point. Chief Spencer said emergency personnel took just over five minutes to extinguish the blaze. He explained that the fire was started when a fuel leak was lit by the hot exhaust. Since the leak was still connected directly to the fuel system, the fire spread quickly throughout the vehicle.
“It was a tough car fire, a lot of fuel burning on that one,” Spencer added.
Mrs. Jarvis had no idea while in the vehicle that the car was on fire. She didn’t realize the danger she was facing until Cash crawled through the SUV to free her.
“I didn’t really think at that moment other than the phrase ‘She’s nuts,’” remembers Jarvis. “The event really didn’t scare me until later when I had to go and see where they had towed it.”
Cash said she never thought twice about climbing through the burning vehicle. Hovland agreed. In fact, he added that he carries some line and has a tow package on his truck just for pulling stranded motorists out of the ditches in that area.
“Those are a pretty dangerous set of curves,” he said. “It’s not the first time I’ve happened across vehicles stranded there.”
Mrs. Jarvis walked away from the accident sore and with some back pain that lasted a couple of days, but otherwise unharmed.
“They are just two outstanding, caring people,” she said. “People that take time to care for others. They are some brave people.”
Hovland and Cash don’t think too much about their actions, they both agreed that they just knew they had to help.
“I definitely shook for a good couple of days afterward,” remembers Cash. “My husband still keeps asking me if I’m crazy.”
“The one thing I really want people to know is to be cautious – be cautious around those awful curves.”
Hovland said the impact of his actions didn’t hit him until later that same day.
“I just sat there and realized, wow, with the timing and everything, that we happened on the scene when we did – It was so early on a Saturday, there may not have been anyone there to help her,” he explained. “I really thought about it a lot later in the day.”
Deputy Pearson had little thinking to do about the actions he took immediately after the accident.
“As soon as I got back to the substation, I put them in for a citizen citation immediately,” said Pearson. “There are very few people over the years that I have put in for this award.”
“This is how it’s suppose to be,” he added. “This is what people are here for, this is what it means to be a good samaritan.”
“I don’t know if before that accident if I would have been brave enough to do something like these two people did,” said Jarvis. “Now I know that I would.”
“I just feel that the good Lord gave me two guardian angels that day,” she added. “If they hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here. I don’t think there are ever any words that can say how grateful you are.”