Teen Pulls Child From Under WagonAKRON - Saving the life of a 6-year-old boy resulted in some minor leg injuries for Tippecanoe Valley High School sophomore Bethany Fincher.
"I'm so glad it was me and not him," Fincher said in an interview Thursday morning. "It would have hurt me if it had been him."
The accident occurred Oct. 29 at Fincher's church, Calvary Temple, in Peru. A hayride was taking place, and Fincher, 16, daughter of Andrew and Jodi Fincher, was one of the people scaring the riders on the wagon.
Fincher and the 6-year-old boy both ran, slipped and fell. His leg banged into hers. Laying between a truck and the wagon, Fincher saw the wagon was approaching the boy's torso.
"I grabbed him by the leg and flipped him backward. He did a somersault-type thing. I couldn't get myself moved over in time. I was just glad it was me and not him because it could have killed him," Fincher said.
When the wagon rolled over Fincher's leg, it tore the soft tissue in her right ankle. Her left leg was just bruised.
"I didn't feel anything Friday night. I just jumped up and said I was fine," she said.
Saturday morning, her leg was swollen. She went trick-or-treating Oct. 30, but she was in a walking boot provided by a friend. She finally went to the doctor Monday.
"It's still a little sore, but it's feeling better than it was. I can put pressure on it now," Fincher said.
Various people witnessed the accident.
"Everyone on the haywagon was freaking out," she said. "They were like, 'Are you OK?'"
She said they were sorry she got hurt, but were amazed at her actions.
Tippecanoe Valley High School Athletic Director Duane Burkhart found out about Fincher's heroic actions after seeing her on crutches.
Burkhart said he was supervising the lunch room Wednesday and started to give Fincher a hard time about being on crutches. She told him an accident happened on the hayride, but didn't go into details. He pressed her for more information.
"She was pretty humble about it," Burkhart said. "It's a pretty neat little story. It sounds like she saved the kid's life because the boy fell down and the wagon would have run over his chest."
