By Nicole Falco
Fifth Precinct Police Officer Frank Discala was so impressed with Sher¹s heroism that he wrote to the Village of Valley Stream and the Town of Hempstead, asking that she be honored. Mayor Edward Cahill and Councilman James Darcy did just that at Monday night¹s Board of Trustees meeting at Village Hall.
³All too often we hear about the not so nice things done by some members of the youth of our community,² Darcy said. ³That¹s why, tonight, it¹s gratifying when you have someone who, at risk to herself ... was instrumental in saving a young man¹s life.²
Last May 4, a confrontation between two Queens teens turned violent, leaving one in critical but stable condition and landing the other behind bars. Luckily for the victim, the incident occurred on the easement behind South High School, where Sher happened to be walking with friends after dismissal.
Sher, now a freshman studying social work at Adelphi University, recounted that afternoon. ³The victim was just joking around that you had to pay $2 to get on to the bridge ... words were exchanged,² she said. ³Somehow the two of them started fighting and a knife was pulled out. I saw the knife go into [the victim] twice in his back and once in his leg. I saw the knife fall out of [the suspect¹s] hand, so I grabbed the knife, closed it on the ground so I wouldn¹t get any blood on me and put it in my shirt.²
Sher then recalled standing between the victim and the attacker, who was later identified as Michael Reed, then 19, of Rosedale. Neither the victim nor the suspect was a student at South.
³All I can remember is the face [Reed] gave me,² she said. ³He looked like he wanted to attack me. It¹s one of those images you never forget.²
Sher¹s friends gathered behind her, and Reed ran off. In the meantime, Sher and other students helped the victim, then 17, of Jamaica, into the school. A trail of his blood marked the path they took to get from the easement to the school cafeteria. Teachers and staff quickly responded as well.
Once inside, Sher applied pressure to the victim¹s wounds using his shirt. She refused to leave his side. ³I held his hand,² she said. ³To help him remain conscious, I asked him about his family, I told him about my family. I asked him what kind of girls he likes. I asked him to count how many piercings I have on my face ...²
Even when a police helicopter and paramedics arrived to airlift the victim to Nassau University Medical Center, Sher didn¹t want to let go of his hand. ³I had no idea who he was,² she said. ³I guess it was just my instincts. I work with kids, and I treat each and every one of those kids like they are my children.²
While the victim was being transported to the hospital, Sher¹s work still wasn¹t done. Police escorted her to Green Acres Mall to identify the suspect, who was found wandering the food court with blood on his clothes.
³Two days later I cried,² said Sher, who works at Tutor Time in East Rockaway. ³Everyone was asking me about it, so I had to keep telling the story. It was so overwhelming.²
Her parents, Ellen and Bruce, though initially alarmed, weren¹t surprised by their daughter¹s actions. ³She was always the kind of kid that rescued things,² Ellen said. ³As far as I can remember, she was always helping the underdog.²
Her father added, ³She¹s always the first to volunteer. She¹s not one to stand in the background.²
Besides her parents, Sher was joined at Village Hall by Discala, South Principal Dr. Stephen Lando and two close friends, Jess Gallagher and Nicole DeMarco. Of the extensive media coverage the incident attracted, Lando said, ³The true story was that there was a student who, by her quick thinking and her bravery, started the process by which a young man was saved.
³I couldn¹t praise my staff or my students more,² Lando said. ³I was very proud to be the principal of South on that day.²
Though she tried to call the hospital several times after the incident, Sher didn¹t come face to face with the victim again until they met in court last summer. Sher and other witnesses were asked to testify. Reed was convicted last August of attempted assault with intent to cause injury, and sentenced to five years¹ probation.
³One day at court, [the victim¹s] father got down on his knees and took my hands to thank me, and he started to cry,² Sher said, adding that the victim was also very grateful, and he showed her his scars from that day.
³I didn¹t do it to be honored,² Sher said. ³I didn¹t expect to be honored. I didn¹t ask to be honored. When I got the phone call that day, it was so surprising, because I didn¹t expect to be thought of that way.²
Comments about this story? NFalco@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
