By Amanda C. Tinnin, as published in the Alton Telegraph .

Ten months after the accident that almost cost her life, a 16-year-old girl got the chance this week to thank the people who saved her.

Molly Carver, an Edwardsville High School student shocked by downed power lines after a car crash in March, thanked six men at an awards ceremony in Creve Coeur.

The American Red Cross Lifesaver Award was presented to Dr. Keith Byler, an off-duty emergency room physician; Stuart Marshall, 17, a passenger in the car with Carver; and Edwardsville firefighters James Anderson, Brett Milton, Robert Morgan and Mark Parker.

The award is designed to inspire others to get trained in first aid and CPR.

Marshall said he's glad a positive message came out of the crash.

"Directly after the accident, a lot of people were kind of focusing on the negatives of it and how awful it was," he said. "It's good to have all these people come together who all helped Molly and be awarded and applauded for their actions."

The crash took place in the 1700 block of Yellow Hammer Crossing in the Lincoln Knolls subdivision, just east of Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville.

Carver and Marshall were two of four passengers in a car that hit a utility pole, causing live wires to fall over the car. The other passengers were able to get out of the car with minor injuries, but when Carver got out on the passenger side, she suffered electrical shock.

Byler was in his back yard and rushed over to assist.

Marshall, who had suffered soft tissue injury in his neck, had been trained in the Boy Scouts and performed CPR on Carver until the paramedics arrived.

After the accident, Carver was taken to Anderson Hospital in Maryville, and then flown by ARCH Air Medical Services helicopter to St. Louis Children's Hospital, where she spent two weeks in critical condition. She spent months recovering and only recently returned to school.

"I think all of us who are career firefighters don't really see ourselves as heroes," Anderson said. "That is a job that we are supposed to do, and we're happy to be able to do it. The people that would be the ones who should appropriately be honored are the civilians who jump in to do that."

Anderson said the credit really belonged to Byler and Marshall and that without their actions the outcome would have been much different.

"Because of our career path, we have opportunities almost on a daily basis to help people out in crisis situations," Anderson said. "What the Red Cross is really stressing is being trained and being prepared to act so you can do what needs to be done. That's what was so great about the folks who participated in that incident."

While he may have helped, Marshall was modest and said many people played a role in Carver's recovery, including those who helped her at the hospital. Marshall, however, echoed the Red Cross' message and stressed the importance of learning first aid and CPR.

Edwardsville Fire Chief Brian Wilson agreed, adding that people have to be prepared before they need the skills.

"This is a classic example of citizen CPR being started immediately," Wilson said. "For most people, it's a once-in-a-lifetime situation. It doesn't happen with great frequency. If you prepare yourself ahead of time, you'll be ready when that opportunity comes along."