By Emily Smith
Wed, July 30, 2014
Illinois woman Wendy S. Rybolt died after she ran back into her burning home to retrieve her cellphone.
Bartonville police and firefighters were dispatched at 3:23 a.m. after a fire started in the basement of the Rybolt home. Rybolt, 44, and her teenage daughter had made it out of the house by the time responders arrived.
Rybolt, who has a history of psychiatric problems, decided to enter the house at the last minute to retrieve her cellphone. Salvador Lopez, a Bartonville police officer, rushed into the house to save Rybolt but was overwhelmed by the smoke.