Carnegie Medal Presentation to Carnegie Hero Joshua K. Watt

Carnegie Hero Joshua K. WattCarnegie Hero Joshua K. Watt, center, was presented the Carnegie Medal on June 22, 2018, at the Edmonson County (Ky.) Courthouse. With Watt, from left, are Brownsville (Ky.) police Chief Jeff Jewell and Edmonson County Sheriff Shane Doyle, who presented the award. One year earlier, Watt pulled two people from an overturned and burning pickup after an accident in Brownsville in which the truck came to rest with its passenger side against a guide rail. Watt, then 26 of Bowling Green, Ky., ran to the burning pickup. Flames and damage to the truck’s cab prevented Watt from seeing the victims from the driver’s side. Moving to the passenger side, Watt crawled under the guide rail, where he saw a 16-year-old girl. Watt reached into the cab and cut her seat belt with a pocketknife, then pulled her through the window under the guide rail and dragged her to safety. Returning to the passenger side, Watt saw the 51-year-old driver, whose shorts, socks, and legs were burning. Watt extended his arms and upper torso into the truck and, despite burning gasoline dripping into the cab and onto Watt’s clothes, he pulled the man through the window to safety. Photo courtesy of Moriah Peterson/EdmonsonVoice.com


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