Elk Grove man to receive Carnegie Medal for rescuing couple, son from burning truck
An Elk Grove man will be recognized with one of the highest honors for civilian heroism for risking his life to pull three people out of burning vehicle after a crash just outside his home two years ago.
Jeffrey Garrett will receive the Carnegie Medal, which is given throughout the United States and Canada to those “who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others,” according to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.
Garrett, 47, is among 15 people who are being honored for their bravery, the commission announced Monday. He’s the only person from California being recognized. There are four people who died during their rescue attempts and they will be awarded the medal posthumously.
Each of the honorees or their survivors will also receive a financial grant. The Pittsburgh-based fund, which was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, has given $41.8 million in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits and continuing assistance in the 116 years since its inception.
Garrett was awakened by the vehicle crash on Oct. 21, 2018. The crash occurred about 5:40 a.m. on Laguna Boulevard, when a truck veered off the road and struck a tree, the Elk Grove Police Department reported.
Garrett quickly went into his yard, which backs up to Laguna Boulevard, before climbing over his backyard fence and pulling out the three people in the vehicle engulfed by flames, according to police.
“I heard a gentleman coughing in pain, so I walked over to the left side of my backyard and right in front of me was a fully engulfed truck,” Garrett told The Sacramento Bee several hours after the rescue.
A couple and their adult son were inside the burning truck after a fire broke out in the vehicle’s engine compartment, according to the commission honoring the Elk Grove man. Garrett first went to aid the couple’s son, who then directed Garrett to help his parents.
Garrett opened a rear door and leaned inside the truck, finding a woman injured and unresponsive, according to the commission. He then unbuckled her seat belt and carried her out of the truck.
“Hearing the husband call out, Garrett opened the damaged driver’s door and moved the man’s leg away from direct contact with flames that had entered the passenger compartment,” according to a news release from the commission.
Garrett unbuckled the man’s seat belt and pulled the man to his feet outside the truck. Flames spread into the truck’s cab by the time officers and firefighters arrived, according to the news release.
Police officials said one of the passengers suffered life-threatening injuries in the crash; all three occupants in the vehicle were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
“I feel really good about having done something that was helpful,” Garrett told The Bee in October 2018.
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 6:32 PM.
