BOSTON (WHDH) - A Gardner woman who risked her life to help save a drowning man at Dunn State Park earlier this year was awarded the Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for civilian bravery on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Annette Szivos heard cries for help coming from the body of water while at the park with her grandchildren on June 23. Szivos then spotted the source of the cries, a man struggling to stay afloat in the water, and his wife, who was unable to swim to shore.
Without hesitation, Szivos jumped into the water to help keep the man’s head above water and bring him to shore. With the assistance of another civilian, Michael Morrison, all three safely returned to shore, where the man received care.
Doctors later discovered the man had several brain bleeds that required surgery. If Szivos hadn’t rescued the man, doctors say he would have died.
The Madeline Amy Sweeney Award is named after a 14-year veteran American Airlines flight attendant who lived in Acton.
Sweeney was aboard American Airlines Flight 11 on Sept. 11, 2001, the first of two aircraft hijacked by terrorists and flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Before the plane hit the tower, Sweeney contacted the airline’s ground services crew to convey critical information about the hijackers and their actions on the plane that morning.
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