During a Dec. 10 city council meeting, Citrus Heights Walmart employees were recognized for their role in helping lift a car off an elderly woman after she was run over and pinned under a vehicle last month.
Citrus Heights Police Chief Christopher Boyd told council members that a four-door Nissan sedan had run over an 85-year-old woman just after she exited the Auburn Boulevard Walmart store on Nov. 9, with the collision leaving her body “completely concealed” under the car.
A group of Walmart employees responded to the scene and lifted the car off the woman, who was then pulled to safety. The victim suffered severe injuries, including a broken clavicle and rib, a collapsed lung, and bleeding around the heart – but is reportedly recovering well and is “already up and walking around,” according to the police chief.
Boyd told council members that “quick thinking and proactive intervention” on the part of responding store employees “most certainly saved a fellow citizen’s life.”
[Related: Council votes in Jeannie Bruins as new Citrus Heights mayor at Dec. 10 meeting]
Nearly a dozen Walmart staff members were given certificates by the police chief and city council members during the meeting, with those recognized including Store Manager Nick Gonnella and Front-end Manager Nicodemus Hatchett.
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Newly seated Mayor Jeannie Bruins called the Walmart team’s response a “phenomenal act of heroism,” and said the group will also be recognized at a more formal police awards ceremony in 2016.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” said Bruins. “This is what our city is all about.”
