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The Houston Independent School District Board of Education on Thursday night recognized Worthing High School junior Marcus Dillard for an act of heroism that may well have saved the life of 72-year-old Houston resident Gloria Cage.

Cage’s car became disabled on Wednesday night after hitting a pothole. A short time later, her vehicle erupted in flames with Cage trapped inside. She said several cars drove by as she pounded on the window for help.

Marcus and his younger brother were passing by, and Marcus quickly turned around to assist Cage. Using a tire jack, Marcus and his brother Marvieon broke the windows of the car and dragged Cage to safety.

Marcus said he relied on training he is undergoing to support his aspiration of becoming a firefighter. He has been enrolled since his freshman year in C.A.S.E.Y. Fire Ops, a program with the Houston Fire Department that supports a career path to become a firefighter/EMT in high school.

“I was kind of nervous,” Dillard said, recalling how he broke the car’s windows and pulled Cage out. “Being a firefighter, that’s what I hope to do,” he said.

“We’re going to keep on until he becomes a firefighter,” Worthing Principal Khalilah Campbell-Rhone told Board members. Cage’s son said his family also is working on getting scholarship money for Marcus to attend Texas Southern University.

“I think (Marcus) is awesome,” Darrell Cage said. “He saved my mother’s life.”