Carnegie heroes named
Pittsburgh ? A motorist who pulled a driver from a burning minivan was among 22 people to be honored today for acts of heroism.
The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission recognized Harmon Perryman III, 36, of Mesquite, Tex., for rescuing Trudy Walunas of Mechanicsburg. The truck in which he was riding collided with her minivan on Interstate 81 near Carlisle last June.
Walunas’ vehicle caught fire, and she was trapped inside. Perryman and another man, Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Mark Luzader, pulled her out just before the van exploded.
Walunas survived with third-degree burns. The fund did not honor Luzader because it was set up to honor civilians.
Industrialist Andrew Carnegie started the fund in 1904 after being inspired by rescue stories from a mine disaster that killed 181 people.
The awards, a bronze medal and $3,500 to honorees or their survivors, are given out five times a year.
Among today’s other honorees:
l Postal carrier Salvador Lopez, of Glade Park, Colo., who rescued a 7-year-old boy by stopping a runaway vehicle.
l Kara Scott, 13, who died trying to help her father save her sister, Krystyne, in a house fire in Mitchellville, Md. Krystyne also died, but two men were able to rescue the father, Kevin Scott. William A. Brown, 57, and Kevin W. Brown, 28, were recognized for saving Kevin Scott from the June 1, 2000, fire.