Norwich employee Larry Hopkins takes part in a rescue
Norwich employee Larry Hopkins, who has worked in the facilities department for the past 36 years, lives the Norwich ideals of discipline, integrity, confidence and critical thinking. This winter, Hopkins went out of his way to assist the victim of a serious car accident in Central Vermont.
On December 4th, Hopkins was driving down the River Road in Middlesex when he saw an oncoming car lose control on the icy road and flip over into a gully. He immediately stopped his truck to see if he could help out.
"I climbed down to where the car was, and it was on its roof in three or four feet of water," Hopkins said. "I immediately starting banging on the bottom of the car and asking whoever was in it if the doors were locked." Hopkins heard a voice from inside the vehicle, and started pulling on the door, eventually getting it open.
"To be honest, the way I saw that car going out of control, I expected to find that some young kid was behind the wheel," Hopkins said. "I was very surprised to see Charlie inside." Charlie turned out to be Charlie Magill, a retired pastor from Williston, Vermont. Magill, who was in the area to visit family, was visibly shaken by the accident.
Hopkins pulled Magill out of his car, and put him in the cab of his own truck to warm him up. Once assured that Magill was okay, Hopkins drove to a nearby house to call a wrecker, and then returned to the accident site to wait for help to arrive. As the wrecker hooked up Magill's car, Hopkins waded back into the water to retrieve some of the man's belongings, and then drove Magill to the son's house nearby.
"Sometimes, listening to the news of the world, it is possible to forget just how good people can be," Magill said. "It is wonderful to meet someone like Larry Hopkins and be reminded of the best in people. His behavior was that of the best of modern Good Samaritans, and an excellent reflection on Norwich University."
This was actually not Hopkin's first heroic rescue. As a teenager growing up in Middlesex, Hopkins experienced a fire in the kitchen of the family residence. When the family gathered outside to wait for help, a head count of children determined that one of his brothers was still in the structure. Without thinking twice, Hopkins ran back inside the residence and retrieved his sibling.
When asked about both of the rescues, Hopkins was characteristically humble. "Sometimes, you just have to do what needs to be done," Hopkins said. "I would do it again without a thought. When you see a person in need, you just react."
