"Hometown Heroes" who helped Festival Foods hit-and-run victims honored in Madison

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) – The Assembly honored Racine County Sheriff’s Deputy Karen Hernandez and Christopher Dustman of Caledonia as “hometown heroes.”

The two quickly applied first aid to Jeff and Cheryl Coopman after they were critically hurt by a hit-and-run driver in a stolen car.

Deputy Hernandez humbly accepted the award. Dustman, however, may have surprised the lawmakers when he used his time at the podium to attack the court system for its handling of the teenage suspect.

“Isaiah DeGroot is well-known with the Racine Police Department for a history of drug dealing and disregard for human life. The court system made the decision and those decisions have consequences. This particular decision has had life-shattering consequences for the Coopmans, their families, and many others including myself.”

Dustman urged lawmakers to look into the court system and the judge’s handling of cases like DeGroot’s.