A Vermont State Police sergeant and a Burlington resident who in December pulled a woman from a burning car after a collision on Interstate 89 were honored at a Statehouse ceremony Friday.

Beth Howe, who was walking to work in Colchester when she scrambled up an embankment onto I-89 to help, and Sgt. Cory Lozier received a Lifesaving Award at the Vermont Department of Public Safety's annual awards and promotions ceremony.

"Your actions are a credit to you and are honorably recognized," Detective Sgt. Julie Scribner told Howe and Lozier during the ceremony, according to prepared remarks.



Howe and Lozier pulled Danielle Houle-Charbonneau, who was badly injured, from her car moments before it was engulfed in flames. Houle-Charbonneau, a 45-year-old Swanton resident whose car was hit from behind in a large pileup, has had several surgeries and is still recovering.

The Department of Public Safety also recognized civilians who rescued a woman from a burning home in Milton, pulled a driver out of a burning car in Springfield, and cared for a woman involved in a motorcycle collision in Bethel.