COEUR d'ALENE — Idaho State Troopers Mike Lininger and Todd McDevitt approached opposite sides of a red Mustang near the Idaho-Montana border in May, its lone passenger pressing a large knife against her throat.

In that highly intense scenario, both men were able to formulate a plan to talk the woman — she had just tried to elude authorities in Montana and Idaho — out of taking her own life before safely wrangling the blade from her hand and placing her under arrest.

After a 10-minute standoff, they succeeded.

A month later on Interstate 90 near the Pleasantview exit in Post Falls, a depressed young woman placed a sweater over her head and proceeded to walk through the nighttime freeway traffic in an attempt to kill herself.

A Spokane man and former law enforcement officer, Dwight Bailey, noticed cars swerving around her. Bailey pulled off the interstate and grabbed the woman before she could be struck.

On Friday, Idaho State Police honored these men's heroic efforts at the agency’s Linda Huff Building.

In a room full of ISP personnel and family members, Lininger and McDevitt, who have nearly 40 years of combined police service, were awarded the Silver Star of Heroism, the second-highest award for heroism in the line of danger. Bailey earned the Certificate of Appreciation for Heroism.

"Sometimes citizens have to pick up where the law enforcement can't," said Bailey, who became emotional when thanking ISP personnel for their service.

During the troopers' harrowing stop, Lininger did the talking from the passenger window, telling the woman behind the wheel why life was worth living.

Meanwhile, McDevitt, holding a window-breaking tool, was on the driver's side. When the men exchanged a signal to take action, the window was broken, and, after a short struggle, they took control of the situation.

Both suffered minor injuries and the woman had a small laceration on her throat, but her life will go on.

McDevitt hopes the woman will be able to turn her life around.

"That would be awesome," McDevitt said. "That's the whole thing right there, making sure she can live another day to think about it."

Both soon learned the woman, who faced a handful of charges from drug offenses, also had a pistol in her car.

"We didn't know about the pistol until we got her out of the car," Lininger said. "She didn't reach for it or this would have been another investigation."

Bailey, who is now retired, also had to act quickly.

Initially, he thought it was a deer that was crossing the road. The woman crossed the freeway unscathed during her first attempt.

"She had to have had a guardian angel," said Bailey, in disbelief that she wasn't hit.

When she tried to cross again, Bailey, who had pulled off to the side of the freeway, screamed at the woman before taking action. He ran onto the freeway, grabbed her, and dragged her back to safety before ISP arrived.

Not a single car stopped to help.

"I think the biggest reward is that she was safe, not this (certificate)," Bailey said.

He hasn't spoken to the woman since.

"It's doing what's right, is how I look at it," he said.