(KMSP) - A truck driver from Wood Lake, Minnesota is one of 18 people recently awarded the Carnegie Medal for outstanding civilian heroism for his attempt to rescue a man from suffocation inside a tanker trailer in Granite Falls. Jamie Alan Hyatt, 34, died attempting to rescue David D. Syring, also 34, from inside a tanker-trailer that was later found to be deficient in oxygen when Syring collapsed and lost consciousness.
Hyatt was a friend of Syring’s and was working as a truck driver for the farm. He was outside the tanker talking to Syring when Syring collapsed and became unresponsive. Hyatt yelled to Syring from a ladder on the tanker’s side, then crawled into a small hatch to search for his friend.
Once inside the tanker Hyatt experienced breathing difficulties almost immediately. He attempted to reach Syring about 20 feet away but ultimately lost consciousness and became unresponsive. A local fire department arrived and cut an opening in the side of the tanker to remove the men, who were transported to the hospital. Syring regained consciousness and survived, but Hyatt died later that day from effects of asphyxia.
The Carnegie Medal 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. Each of the awardees or their survivors will also receive a financial grant.
The 18 latest Carnegie Heroes are:
Kevin L. Heselton of Tiburon, Calif.
Kevin D. Little, Jr. of Milwaukee, Wis. (deceased)
Nathan Michael Stieg of Dickinson, N.D.
Jayden Charles Concha of Dickinson, N.D.
Merrill O. Naylor of Stephens City, Va.
Richard William Dorrity of Livingston, Calif.
Michael Lumahang of Ottawa, Ont. (deceased)
Jesse T. Haw of Ottawa, Ont.
John Paul Hollyfield of Accokeek, Md.
David E. Hammond of Gulf Breeze, Fla.
Eric W. Edwards of Lodi, Calif.
Jamie Alan Hyatt of Wood Lake, Minn. (deceased)
Vincent Santaniello of Uhrichsville, Ohio
Harold Shaw of Uhrichsville, Ohio
René Roy of Sherbrooke, Que.
Bobby Lynn Arnold of Onalaska, Texas (deceased)
Tanner Douglas Boslau of Bend, Ore.
James O. Vernon of Morton, Ill.