SEATTLE — Four women who saved their friend during a cougar attack received the Carnegie Medal at Seattle City Hall on Thursday afternoon.
The medal “is awarded to civilians who risk death or serious physical injury to an extraordinary degree saving or attempting to save the lives of others.”
On Feb. 17, five women were cycling on a trail near northeast of Fall City when a cougar attacked 60-year-old Keri Bergere. The 75-pound young male cat jumped on her back, knocking her off her bicycle and into a ditch.
The wildcat bit into Bergere’s jaw and sank its claws into her neck and shoulders.
Bergere’s four cycling partners, 64-year-old Annie Bilotta, 58-year-old Tisch Schmidt-Williams, 59-year-old Aune Tietz, and 51-year-old Erica Wolf, helped save her life during the terrifying ordeal.
Seattle women Bilotta and Tietz saw the attack and screamed as they ran to help. The screams alerted North Bend woman Schmidt-Williams, and Wolf, also of Seattle.
According to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, Bilotta immediately jumped on the cougar while Tietz pulled the cat’s back legs off the victim.
Schmidt-Williams ran over with a rock and some sticks and began to hit the cougar. Wolf tried to call 911 but the remote location caused the call to drop. She then grabbed a stick and joined in the battle.
Bilotta was able to pull one of the cat’s paws off Bergere, then fearlessly stuck her hand into the animal’s mouth in the hopes that she could pry open its jaw to release its grip on her friend.
After battling the cat for 15 minutes, they got a break. When the cougar readjusted its grip on Bergere’s jaw, she escaped.
The quick-thinking women then did something that may have saved them all: They used Wolf’s bicycle to pin the cougar to the ground. Working together, they all stood on Wolf’s bike for 30 minutes until a fish and wildlife officer arrived and shot the cat.
Bergere was taken to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries to her face, neck, and jaw, including nerve damage, fractures, and cuts.
The four other women had minor cuts and bruises but were otherwise OK.
They were presented the Carnegie Medal at a ceremony Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal presented the medal to Bilotta and Tietz; Schmidt-Williams’ brother, Jim Schmidt, presented the medal to his sister. Seattle University School of Law Dean Emerita Annette Clark presented the medal to Wolf.
“The Hero Fund, established by Andrew Carnegie in 1904, has awarded the Carnegie Medal to 10,458 individuals in recognition of their outstanding heroism, defined by the Commission as acts of lifesaving done at extraordinary risk to the rescuer. Grants totaling more than $45 million have been given to the awardees or their survivors and include scholarship aid, continuing assistance, and death benefits,” according to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.