Carnegie Medal to be awarded to Enfield man who saved co-worker, and Willington neighbor who tried to stop an attack

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Doreen Guarino, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
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Apr. 2—Andrew J. Sullivan of Enfield — who rescued a co-worker from a burning building after a plane crash — and John A. Franco of Willington — who interrupted an attack on his neighbor by an assailant wielding a samurai sword — are among 18 people from across the country who will receive the Carnegie Medal for heroism.

The Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission recently announced the recipients of the award, which was established in 1904 by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and recognizes extraordinary acts of heroism in the U.S. and Canada.

Commission Chairman Mark Laskow said in a news release that each of the awardees or their survivors also would receive a financial grant.

According to the fund's website, the Carnegie Medal is the highest honor for civilian heroism and recognizes those who risked their lives while trying to save others from life-threatening situations.

Sullivan, 30, engaged in an act of heroism on Oct. 2, 2019, after a World War II-era B-17 bomber crashed at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, killing seven people.

According to a news release from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, events happened this way: The crash had caused the wing of the vintage plane to break from the fuselage and smash into a metal-framed vinyl building. The plane's fuel caught fire and ignited the vinyl.

Sullivan, an operations supervisor, searched the area for his 51-year-old co-worker who had been working in the burning building. Failing to find him from among the evacuees, Sullivan continued his search and heard someone calling for help from within the burning building.

When Sullivan couldn't enter the building through its doors because they were blocked by fire, he ripped a hole in the vinyl maintenance flap and entered that way. Through thick black smoke he called out to his co-worker while shining his cellphone's flashlight.

He reached his co-worker about 70 feet inside the building, and led him to the vinyl flap where they exited the building. Sullivan suffered burns to his fingertips and forehead and later recovered.

Franco is being honored for his act of heroism that occurred last May 22 when he tried to save his neighbor, Ted DeMers, 62, from being attacked at random by a stranger in their Willington neighborhood — a man later identified by state police as Peter Manfredonia, who began slashing DeMers with a samurai sword, which led to DeMers' death.

According to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, events happened this way: Upon hearing screaming outside his home that day, Franco, 80, approached Manfredonia, 23, who was standing over DeMers, slashing him with the sword.

Franco shouted at him to stop, then moved closer to the scene where DeMers lay severely wounded on the ground. Manfredonia then turned his attention to Franco and began attacking him, slashing at his hands and head. Franco fell near his driveway, and other neighbors responded. At that point, Manfredonia fled.

According to authorities, Manfredonia, then a senior at the University of Connecticut, led law enforcement on a six-day, multi-state manhunt, committing another murder, a home invasion, and a kidnapping among other crimes before he was arrested in Maryland.

Today, Manfredonia is being held in pretrial detention in lieu of a $2 million bond at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown, according to the state Department of Correction's website.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him and is scheduled to appear in Vernon Superior Court on April 30 and in Milford Superior Court on May 12, according to online Judicial Department records.

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