SEATTLE — A Seattle man is among the winners of North America's most recognized civilian heroism award after he saved a boy who was drowning in Green Lake Park.
Benjamin Ramsay will receive the Carnegie Medal after he was on a paddleboard at the Seattle park in April 2021 when he observed a teenage boy submerge and not resurface about 80 feet from shore.
Despite a "poor swimming ability" and a lack of visibility beneath the water's surface, Ramsay dove into the lake and went down 15 feet to the bottom to locate the boy and grasp his arm.
By the time Ramsay got the boy back to the surface, his paddleboard had drifted out of reach. Ramsay kept the boy against his chest and backstroked toward shore.
Ramsay eventually found a female paddleboarder who kicked them to shore as he held on with one arm while still clutching the boy in the other.
The Carnegie Commission says the boy expelled water during efforts to revive him, but he recovered after being treated at a hospital. While Ramsay was "cold and fatigued," he did not require any medical attention after the rescue.
Per its website, the Carnegie Medal is designated for "civilians who risk death or serious physical injury to an extraordinary degree saving or attempting to save the lives of others."
Recipients receive a financial grant from the Commission, which was founded by American industrialist Andrew Carnegie.
