Boca Raton (Florida) Mayor Scott Singer, left, poses with, from right, Zachary Bihr, director of municipal services for Boca Raton; Carnegie Hero Shawn H. Turner, who works as a plumber for the city; and Turner’s mother, Anna Turner, after a June 16, 2021, ceremony in which Singer presented the Carnegie Medal to Shawn Turner on behalf of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.
Turner, then 33, was driving in Boca Raton when a nearby motorist suffered a medical emergency and passed out. Her vehicle entered a deep, murky canal. Turner stopped, removed his pants and shoes, and swam to the car, where he saw the 34-year-old woman, unconscious, in the driver’s seat. As the car sank, Turner fully entered the vehicle, released the woman’s seat belt, and pushed her through the driver’s window to a man who also responded to the car. As the vehicle fully submerged, Turner swam from the vehicle.
“Shawn, what you did exemplifies the best of not only what we hope for our employees and residents, but for humanity,” Singer said at the presentation.