Andrew Leffler
Beaverdam, Virginia
August 17, 2000

On the morning of August 17, 2000, seventeen-year-old Andrew Leffler left his home in Beaverdam, Virginia on his way to varsity football practice at Patrick Henry High School. The roads between his home and the school are windy and hilly. Although they are paved, these roads are often very narrow and have no gravel or prepared shoulders on either side. Andrew came around a curve and found a head-on auto collision had just occurred.

Responding just as he had been taught, Andrew first assessed the hazards of the scene and stopped the next car from each direction and got those drivers to direct traffic. He did triage to determine which victim needed help first.

One vehicle was completely upside down and Andrew ascertained with little difficulty that the driver was dead and determined there was nothing to do.

A young mother and her infant were in the second car. The mother's leg was trapped and she tried to free herself to check on the baby whose head was bleeding profusely.

Knowing that this kind of movement increased the risk of spinal injury and realizing that the child's cut was not deep in spite of the amount of blood, Andrew grabbed towels from his van and wiped the blood away so that the mother could see that the cut wasn't serious thus preventing more injury to the frightened mother. Andrew kept the mother as still and calm as possible until the police and emergency crews arrived.

An Eagle Scout, Andrew received his Good Samaritan award October 16 in ceremonies at his Scout Troop. There is no doubt that a second accident could have occurred without Andrew's quick assessment and assertiveness in taking the situation in hand. Because of his quick action, demonstrated maturity and confidence, other drivers were willing to help at the scene.

A very bad situation was saved from becoming even worse.