Molly Bradley, Andrew Hersey, MPD Chief Brian O’Hara and Asst. Chief Christopher Gaiters. (Mark Peterson)
Before the morning of February 7, 2025, Windom Park resident Andrew Hersey and Molly Bradley had never met. On April 30, they stood together on the stage at the Ukrainian American Community Center to receive the Citizen’s Lifesaving Award, presented to them by Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.
Just before noon that February day, Bradley was driving home for lunch (it was her birthday) and Hersey was walking his dog Pepper near the intersection of Hiawatha Ave. and East 54th Street. Bradley saw a car going the wrong way down Hiawatha, driving into a ditch and crashing into a wooded area between the VA Hospital and the dog park. She immediately called the police.
Bradley joined Hersey at the crash; he said he didn’t want to move the driver in case he had broken bones or some other injuries. “I was just staying with him until the first responders arrived and holding the airbags off of his face because it seemed like it might be hard to breathe with those draped over him,” Bradley later said.
The car caught fire, though, pushing a change of plans. Bradley and Hersey began trying to extract the driver, who Hersey said seemed to be having a medical emergency or was otherwise dazed from the impact. He said that the door was smashed in and the window was shattered. “I was in the backseat trying to recline the seat to pull him out the back,” Bradley said. “We couldn’t get the seat to recline with the airbags in the way, so we pulled the driver out of the window.” They had pulled the driver up to a grassy area when the police pushed them farther back — the car was fully engulfed. “They took our statements while they attempted to stabilize the driver’s neck, and [they] asked what we had seen.”
The driver was taken to a nearby hospital with unknown injuries. One of the police officers present, Sgt. Kabakas Clark, wrote in his award recommendation that the car was in flames when he arrived, and the driver had been removed by Hersey and Bradley, both of whose hands were bleeding. In his statement, Clark added that both Hersey and Bradley “Decided to risk their own personal safety […] without the quick thinking and action by these two outstanding individuals this crash could have had a very different outcome. They displayed immense courage in this situation and saved the life of the driver.”
The incident came at a particularly difficult time for Hersey. It happened two weeks after the death of his brother and a week before his family’s bookstore — at 50th Street and Penn Avenue — was destroyed by a flooded water main. (He said they hope to rebuild.) He said it was hard to talk about the accident too much with everything else going on. Asked how he felt about the award, Hersey said he has known people who have been killed in accidents, and hopes people realize how quickly things can change forever, adding, “It was nice to be acknowledged, although I felt undeserving to be in the company of the police officers and investigators being honored for what they do all the time.”
Bradley said, “We all need to be there for each other and watch out for our fellow citizens. If you see something, take ownership and make sure you call the police. We all seem to assume someone else has already called for help or helped that person when, in reality, so many people don’t notice what is happening around them.” She said she and Hersey didn’t know what happened to the driver, but said it was important “to make sure when you get behind the steering wheel, you are in a good position to drive. If you aren’t feeling right, are tired, or have been drinking please take into consideration it isn’t just your life you could affect but it is everyone around you.”
Assistant Chief of Community Trust Christopher Gaiters read the background for the award: “Following a serious single vehicle crash near Hiawatha Avenue and East 54th Street, the vehicle began to catch fire, with the unresponsive driver still inside. Hersey, who witnessed the crash, ran to the scene and attempted to pull the driver to safety. Bradley, who had called 911, quickly joined him, and together they risked their lives, their own safety, and removed the driver from the burning vehicle.
“By the time first responders arrived, the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames, but the driver had been successfully rescued and was receiving medical care. Both Bradley and Hersey sustained minor injuries during the rescue. The quick thinking, bravery and selflessness undoubtedly saved the driver’s life, making them deserving recipients of the Citizen’s Lifesaving award.”