Seven Strangers Lifted a Volkswagen Beetle Off a Trapped Woman. Their Pennsylvania Borough Called Them Outstanding Citizens.

PROSPECT PARK, Pa. - The crash took a moment. So did the rescue. On the morning of Aug. 31, a 44-year-old woman riding an electric bicycle collided with a vintage Volkswagen Beetle at 11th and Lincoln avenues in this small Delaware County borough and was left pinned beneath the car. Bystanders came running from different directions, police said, and seven of them took hold of the Beetle, lifted it and pulled her out. On Oct. 13, at the Prospect Park Borough building, several of those rescuers were honored as outstanding citizens, CBS News Philadelphia reported.

Surveillance video shared by Prospect Park police showed people rushing toward the car within moments of the crash, CBS News Philadelphia reported in early September. Chrissy Vollmer, who owns a sign shop nearby, said she was working inside when she heard it.

"I just heard a bang and a scream," she told the station. "So, I ran out and I saw someone's legs underneath the car and then the lady was screaming, 'Get me out of this car, get this car off me.'"

There were a lot of people around, Vollmer recalled, and one of them proposed the obvious, improbable solution. "He said, 'Let's lift his car.' And he says, '3, 2, 1,' and everyone pushed up," she said.

The woman, a Ridley Park resident whom authorities have not publicly identified, was taken to a hospital with a chest injury that required surgery, and she was expected to recover, according to CBS News Philadelphia and Delco Today. Police said the Volkswagen's driver, who had signaled his turn, was not at fault.

Dave Madonna, the Prospect Park police chief, called the rescue "heroism in its purest form" at a news conference two days later, and his department set about identifying everyone seen in the video so they could be commended by the borough.

That recognition came on a Tuesday night in October. Albert Laing Jr., one of those honored, said his family had already reached its verdict. "My daughter was like, 'You're a hero,'" he told CBS News Philadelphia. "They think I am a superhero."

He described the rescue less as a feat of strength than of coordination. "It felt like I was in a football game," Laing said. "In a way like everybody was just doing their part and we were one band. Everybody came together."

Karl Wise, also recognized, kept his account brief. "It feels good," he said. "I try to help when I can if I can do it." Vollmer called it "an honor to come out and be recognized." In September she had been more modest still. "I don't know if I'm really a hero, but I was happy to be there that day," she said. "And I'm happy that everyone's OK."

Chief Madonna said what struck him was the absence of anything but will. "For them to just put themselves at risk in the middle of the street, lifting a vehicle, no special equipment and certainly no special training, it just speaks so well of them and our community," he said.

The honorees, CBS News Philadelphia reported, were mostly glad the woman was all right, and hoped strangers would do the same for them. Laing offered the evening's simplest summary. "Help your community," he said. "Help your neighbor out. Be there for one another."

Sources: CBS News Philadelphia, Kerri Corrado, Oct. 13, 2026: https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/prospect-park-volkswagen-rescue-good-samaritans-honored/ ; CBS News Philadelphia, Sept. 2, 2026: https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/volkswagen-rescue-prospect-park-pennsylvania/ ; Delco Today, Alaina Gross, Oct. 16, 2026: https://delco.today/2026/10/prospect-park-bystanders-honored/ ; Delco Today, Sept. 2026: https://delco.today/2026/09/prospect-park-volkswagen-crash-rescue/ . Only rescuers who spoke on the record are named.