A group of ordinary people were honored by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue officials Tuesday for doing extraordinary things, which they say helped save lives.
Among the group honored as "Everyday Heroes" are Ensign John Hunt and 2nd Lt. Wells Weymouth, who are students at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences at Walter Reed.
The two men literally jumped into action when a car came crashing through the Sam's Club in Gaithersburg in July. That vehicle hit two people inside the store, including a man in his 70s.
"We immediately looked at each other and knew we were going to run over there," said Ensign Hunt.
Hunt and Weymouth used their belts as makeshift tourniquets to stop the man's leg from bleeding. They also kept talking with the other person who was hurt until paramedics arrived.
"Certainly an adrenaline race," said Weymouth. "I think we were just most concerned with getting him to safety."
County officials also honored Walter Lopez, an employee for the Department of General Services.
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Lopez was driving down Old Georgetown Road during the derecho storm when he came across a woman who'd been trapped in her car by a large tree. He helped the woman out and drove her to Suburban Hospital, where doctors had to use 40 surgical staples on her head.
Two security officers at Montgomery College -- Yasmel Rodriguez and Jeff Wilson -- also got the distinction as "Everyday Heroes" for their work performing CPR on a student who collapsed in a classroom.
