Categories: News, Schenectady County

The Schenectady man who caught a 14-year-old girl from Delaware when she fell from a ride Saturday at Six Flags Great Escape is being honored again, this time by Sen. Jim Tedisco, R-Glenville.

In addition to recognizing Matthew Howard Sr., 47, who broke the girl’s 25-foot fall from the Sky Ride, Tedisco will honor Howard’s daughter, Leeann Winchell, 21, of Colonie, who helped him catch the girl, and two others — Loren Lent of Glenville, who “assisted on the ground,” and Rey Rivera of Colonie, who “helped by climbing a tree to try and reach the girl,” according to a news release from Tedisco’s office.

Tedisco called them heroes; all four will be given state Senate citations at 1 p.m. Wednesday on the Capitol’s Million Dollar Staircase.

The Schenectady City Council honored the father and daughter at Monday’s meeting. The pair were in the national spotlight after video of the incident at the Queensbury amusement park went viral.

The video shows the girl dangling from the stopped ride — a slow-moving, gondola-style attraction — before dropping into a group that had formed below.

The girl, who has not been identified, did not sustain serious injuries.