20 honored by Carnegie Hero Fund Commission

PITTSBURGH -- A 76-year-old museum owner who pulled a semiconscious man from a burning car after a crash in rural Pennsylvania was one of 20 people being honored with Carnegie medals for heroism.

The Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission announced the award winners Tuesday.

James Raymond Garvey Sr. was driving with his wife in November 2016 when he saw the burning wreckage of Ryan Hindinger's SUV, according to the commission.

Garvey ran to the vehicle, which had rolled over and landed upright after the crash, and urged Hindinger to get out. But the 26-year-old was semiconscious and couldn't open the driver's side door because it was jammed shut. Flames ignited patches of brush that bordered the passenger side of the vehicle, complicating the escape.

Garvey reached into the driver's side window, grabbed Hindinger and then braced his feet against the side of the SUV as he pulled the man from the crash. Flames engulfed the car moments later.

The Hero Fund commission was founded and endowed by the late steel magnate and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. It has awarded about $39 million to about 10,000 heroes or their families since 1904.

Other winners announced Tuesday:

• Robin Ireland, 39, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, used a stick to scare off an attacker who stabbed a woman with pruning shears in July 2016.
• Jason Allen Williams, 32, of Orange City, Florida, saved a man from the scene of a burning car crash in August 2016.
• Courtney Baynes Dorsey, 16, of Georgetown, South Carolina, died while trying to save his brother from a strong rip current in the Atlantic Ocean in July 2016.
• Demetrius T. Johnson Sr., 24, of Buffalo, New York, died of smoke inhalation while attempting to save his son from a fire in February 2016.
• Terryann E. Thomas, 46, of Topeka, Kansas, helped fight off a man who attacked a woman in a police station waiting room in July 2015.
• Austin Craig Welch, 18, of Bartow, Florida, drowned while helping his mother and sister escape from the strong currents of a fast-flowing river in September 2016.
• Davis Ilan Zinsenheim, 22, of Marietta, Georgia, died when he tried to stop a friend from falling off a cliff in May 2016.
• Thomas M. Petruszak, 57, of Manteno, Illinois, drowned while trying to help a man who fell into a Lake Michigan bay in September 2016.
• Noah Hill King, 38, of Panama City, Florida, saved a man from a burning car wreck in October 2016.
• Frank B. Conselman, 45, of Rockwall, Texas, saved a man from drowning in Florida in July 2016.
• James Edward Giles, 40, of Terrace, British Columbia, twice braved a burning building to save two young siblings in October 2016.
• Mark Rich, 52, of Randleman, North Carolina, rescued a 9-year-old girl from drowning at Atlantic Beach in July 2016.
• Joshua J. Owen, 33, of Kansas City, Missouri, fought off an assailant and saved a mother and baby after being shot in the face in September 2016.
• Hilton Quintana, 59, and Kyle Van Note, 32, both of Pennsylvania, saved a man after a car crash.
• Angel Darlene Fiorini, 32, and Matthew Paul Burson, 45, both of Washington, helped pull a 7-year-old girl from the scene of a raging mobile home fire in October 2016.
• Justin William Schroepfer, 24, of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, died as he tried to save two women from drowning in June 2016.
• Dmitriy A. Bondarenko, 39, of Shakopee, Minnesota, drowned saving a man who was trapped by currents in the Gulf of Mexico in August 2016.