<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">LEESVILLE — Two women who helped a local family escape a vehicle after a traffic accident were recognized Monday by the City Council.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The council, along with police officers and firefighters, honored Jessica Lyons and Angie Culbert with certificates of recognition to thank them for their actions.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">A minivan containing a man and his five children was struck by an 18-wheeler May 31 on Nolan Trace Road, near Abe Allen Memorial Drive.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I was right behind their vehicle when it happened,” Lyons said. “I saw them get hit right in front of me.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">She said that after the minivan came to a stop, she heard children screaming from inside of it. She said she rushed from her vehicle to theirs.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I rushed to one of the windows where there was a small space for me to stick my arm in,” she said. “As soon as I did I felt a child grab onto my hand.”  </span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Lyons said a crowd began to gather and she called for help to break the back glass of the vehicle. Once a pathway was created, she said, she crawled inside to find the father trapped behind the steering wheel and the children, ages 1 to 11, injured and frightened.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Having just come from work at a local veterinary clinic, Lyons said she began using her scrub top to clean the childrens’ wounds.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“Some were bleeding. There was a lot of blood, and I don’t know — I just never thought about it except, ‘Oh, I can use this,’ ” Lyons said. “I knew they were scared, and I was just trying to help them not be so scared.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Shortly afterward, Culbert joined in Lyons’ efforts and the two women continued to work to get the family out of the vehicle. Their extraction ultimately required the use of Fire Department equipment.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Mayor Rick Allen, who was also at the scene of the accident, called the crash “horrific” and thanked the women for their actions.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I know that it is because of you two that lives were saved that day,” he said. “The city thanks you, and I know that family will always be grateful that you were there.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Fire Chief Kyle Bush presented Lyons with a plaque signed by the emergency personnel who were at the scene of the accident that day. Culbert is expected to be presented with a plaque of her own at the next City Council meeting.</span><p>Jessica Lyons (far left) and Angie Culbert (second from left) were honored Monday by members of the Leesville city council</p>