GREENFIELD — A back brace supported Heather Fischer’s crushed vertebra, and a walking boot secured her broken right foot. Fischer rolled into city hall in a wheelchair pushed by her two children, who are thankful she is alive.
Fischer, New Palestine, was attending a special presentation Wednesday evening, Dec. 9, in front of the Greenfield City Council to honor Greenfield Police Department patrolman Blake Crull.
Crull is the officer who pulled Fischer to safety Sept. 9 after a two-car crash left Fischer’s car upside down and in flames.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“I’m just glad I was at the right place at the right time,” Crull said after the ceremony.
Fischer, who is still recovering from her injuries, told the city council and Mayor Chuck Fewell that she was thankful for Crull’s actions that night.
“I’m just very glad he’s being recognized,” Fischer said.
Crull, 27, Greenfield, was given the department’s first Medal of Valor, along with a Lifesaving Award, by Fewell and GPD Chief Jeff Rasche, who both praised Crull as the embodiment of public service to community.
“We’re proud of Blake,” Fewell said. “He’s the kind of person that we want as a policeman. He ran toward everything and didn’t stop in any manner… I’m really proud of him.”
Rasche was pleased to recognize one of his officers at a time of uncertain sentiment about the role of policing.
“A lot of people that are in this line of work echo Blake,” Rasche said. “They don’t come to work every day thinking they’ll do something like this, but when they’re needed, it’s not even a second thought.”
Considering everything that was going on in the moment Crull was forced to act — the fire, the smell of gasoline, the unlit area and no tools — Crull reacted remarkably quickly using his bare hands to pull Fischer free, Rasche said.
Crull is a six-year veteran of the force. While on patrol about 1:30 a.m. Sept. 9, he came up on the crash in the 4200 block of East U.S. 40 and found that a vehicle had flipped upside down into a yard.
Fischer was pinned inside her car, and video from Crull’s uniform camera — viewed thousands of times after it was posted online — shows Crull quickly checking on her and the occupants of the other car involved in the crash before returning to Fischer’s overturned vehicle, which was starting to burn. He found a way to pull her to safety as the fire in the engine compartment grew.
Parts of the car’s engine started exploding less than a minute after Crull pulled Fischer from the vehicle, officials said.
The other driver, Arturo A. Casimiro, 46, Indianapolis, was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and driving while suspended.
The Wednesday night ceremony was slightly delayed because Crull, who was on duty, had to be called and reminded to come to city hall. His parents, wife, grandfather and several other officers were on hand waiting for him to arrive for the special recognition.
“I’m so proud of him,” said his mother, Shannon Crull.
Crull’s wife, Brandi, said she knew something was different about his shift that night when he came home smelling like smoke. Crull, however, was reluctant to talk about it.
“He’s a pretty humble man,” she said.
His father, Chuck Crull, said he found out what his son had done the day after the crash when his son called him and told him he might be seeing some video on social media, but not to worry.
“I really am proud of him,” his father said.
Capt. Chuck McMichael, public information officer for GPD, noted the Medal of Valor is the highest honor the police department can give an officer and is deserved when an officer puts his or her life on the line to save another. Crull was nominated for the honor by his supervisor. A law enforcement committee considered the nomination.
“This is not an award that is taken lightly by the department, but this one was a pretty simple absolute ‘yes,’” McMichael said. “He knew the car was on fire, and he knew it was dangerous, but he didn’t hesitate.”
Fischer said her doctors are working to get her out of the brace she’s wearing after suffering a broken vertebra, but she’s not well enough for that to happen just yet.
“The rehab is hard,” Fischer said. “I’ve got some more surgeries to get, some things taken out and some fusion work done.”
Fischer’s two children stayed close to their mother’s side during the ceremony and afterward. Her son Alex Fischer said he was “surprised” when he recalled the day he watched the police camera video of what happened to his mom, while his sister cried happy tears watching the police officer rescue their mom.
“It’s still so crazy to realize what she went through,” daughter Brooklyn Hunt said. “The video looked like it was from a movie almost.”
Fortunately, this real-life experience had a happy ending for their mother and the man who saved her, the children said.
