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Heroes’ corner

Employee hailed as ‘superhero’ after sidewalk rescue

Hero David Forstad
St. Paul, MN, Letter Carrier David Forstad

Andy Twedt was crossing a street in St. Paul, MN, earlier this year when she stepped into a drainage hole, tumbled backward onto a sidewalk and felt a snap.

“As I lay on the sidewalk, staring at a leg that refused to obey, a kindly male voice said, ‘Need some help?’” Twedt recalled in a recent newspaper column.

The voice belonged to St. Paul Letter Carrier David Forstad, who called 911 at Twedt’s request. He also gathered some nearby construction cones to help protect her from the pedestrians and vehicles whizzing by.

Emergency responders arrived and took Twedt away in an ambulance. She was treated for a broken hip.

Twedt credited Forstad with rescuing her, saying the incident reminded her that “a hero sometimes appears in the midst of a calamity … dressed not in superhero briefs and snug leggings, but in something as ordinary as a mailman’s uniform.”

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