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New Everyday Hero in SF Honored by Zimbardo |
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| Posted by: | Phil Zimbardo |
| Title/Position: | Professor Emeritus |
| School/Organization: | Stanford University |
| Sent to listserv of: | SPSP, SPSSI, SESP |
| Date posted: | November 24th, 2011 |
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Below is a heartwarming story about a young single mother from San Francisco's inner city who risked her life to save a truck driver from being burned to death. It is a counterpoint to the earlier sad news from China about numerous passersby allowing a toddler struck by two vans to die rather than offering any help, and of course the systemic evil we are witnessing unfold in the Penn State sexual abuse, denial, and information suppression up and down the academic ladder.
Meet a remarkable everyday local hero: Keenia Williams.
Shortly after 5:00 am on Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 22-year-old Keenia Williams, a San Francisco resident, was driving south on San Francisco's Highway 101 with her 5-year-old daughter, Ja'niyah. Keenia was taking her to school before heading to her temporary job. Suddenly she screamed out, "Oh my God!" when she saw a dramatic accident unfold in her rear-view mirror.
Two vehicles had just crashed, and then a big-rig truck swerved to avoid the wreck and overturned, spilling gallons of diesel fuel everywhere. Although ahead of the accident with a clear lane to get away, Keenia pulled over to the shoulder. Other drivers behind her saw the same thing. Keenia, though, was the only one to stop. Between her and the rig were streams of spilled fuel that were now in flames. The driver, 52-year-old Michael Finerty, lay unconscious in a pool of fuel that could ignite at any moment. Keenia realized that if no one did something, Finerty was sure to die.
Without a moment's hesitation, Keenia raced back to the scene, running into the fire and skipping over the leaking fuel to Finerty's aid. Unable to revive him, she dragged the husky man 65 feet across the highway lanes to safety near her car. When he began to shudder with chills, she put her coat on him and covered him with a blanket.
Because oncoming traffic was stalled by the accident, no help came for some time. When California Highway Patrol officers finally arrived from the opposite direction, they initially searched the wreckage until Keenia called them over where Finerty lay motionless. The medics soon took him to the nearest hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and then released. Luckily, there were no fatalities. Relieved that everything had turned out so well, only then did Keenia notice that she was still wearing her pajamas.
Shortly after, the media found out about what happened and her story was picked up by local television and news outlets.* Keenia was subsequently honored for her heroic actions by fire and CHP officials at a news conference at the CHP's San Francisco headquarters. At that ceremony Finerty declared that he owed his life to Keenia's courage, risking her own safety and taking responsibility for saving a stranger. "Seconds count in accidents like this, and without your bravery (Keenia), the situation would've been entirely different," San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said.
Later, Keenia said, "I was not a hero. I just did the right thing at the right time. I only stopped long enough to think this is what I would want someone to do for me had my car flipped over."
The Heroic Imagination Project (HIP) commends Keenia's amazing compassion and bravery transformed into an act of everyday heroism. Encouraging such civic action in the service of humanity are central to our mission. We are raising funds for a special monetary reward for Keenia and daughter Ja'niyah.
Please send your tax-deductible gift of any amount to: THE KEENIA FUND C/O THE HEROIC IMAGINATION PROJECT THE PRESIDIO, 220 HALLECK ST, G100 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94129 or via a donation on our website:
http://www.heroicimagination.org/
We have hosted a special ceremony to honor Keenia November 15, at our offices in the Presidio at 220 Halleck Street, G100, San Francisco, CA 94129.
Finally, we are planning to hire Keenia to work in our education program with inner city youth. If you would be interested in sponsoring her in our innovative program to educate youth in how to become wise and effective heroes, please contact Erik Stangvik, our Senior VP, by phone above or via our website.
*News links:
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Woman-Hailed-Hero-Following-101-Crash-132196233.html
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/10/woman-drags-driver-safety-after-fiery-highway-101-crash-san-francisco
http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/10/keenia_williams_hero.html
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Thanks for passing this message along to your students and colleagues, and do visit:
http://www.heroicimagination.org/
-Phil Zimbardo
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