Connecticut music teacher works to replace burned van of the man she rescued

By Rob Polansky

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    MANCHESTER, Connecticut (WFSB) — A music teacher who was credited with saving a man from a burning vehicle has been working to help get a replacement van for him.

According to firefighters, Heather Sica-Leonard, pulled the man, who has a disability, from the van on an eastbound ramp to Interstate 384 last week.

They said the Illing Middle School teacher pulled over, saw the smoke, and figured out that the man was stuck. She grabbed his wheelchair and rushed him to safety.

Now, Sica-Leonard is working to replace the man’s van.

“As the orchestra teacher at Illing Middle School for the past 15 years, Heather Sica-Leonard knows a little something about being in the spotlight,” Manchester Public Schools posted to social media. “But no matter how many times she’s stood at center stage in Bailey Auditorium directing young musicians, nothing can compare to the attention and acclaim she has so deservedly received the past few days.”

Monday night, Manchester’s Board of Education scheduled a meeting during which the town’s mayor will issue a proclamation in Sica-Leonard’s honor.

School officials said she has been in touch with the man and organized a GoFundMe campaign with the goal of raising $75,000 so he can replace his van. People can donate here.

“It’s been crazy and I’m still trying to process it all,” Sica-Leonard told school officials.

Sica-Leonard shared a little about what led up to her encounter. She said she luckily ended up taking a different route home because she was at a different school that day.

She said when she saw the van, she didn’t hesitate. Her father owns a tow service through which she went on plenty of rides.

“You probably don’t see that sort of background much in an orchestra director,” Sica-Leonard said told Manchester Public Schools. “I did what I thought anyone would do.”

Manchester’s superintendent issued a statement in which he acknowledged Sica-Leonard’s heroics.

“As a community, we are stronger when we look out for one another and are willing to help when someone is in need,” said superintendent Matt Geary. “Heather did so in the most dramatic way imaginable and I know I speak for so many in the community when I commend her for her quick thinking and courage. What she did was truly heroic and should be an inspiration to us all.”

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