Wednesday, December 19, 2001
|
Wednesday, December 19, 2001 |
|
Local man gets Carnegie award for saving kids from burning car By JOHN
MUNFORD
A Peachtree City man has been awarded the Carnegie Medal for risking his life to save three children from a burning car on Interstate 85 in Union City in February. Kevin Snyder, an attorney who works in Atlanta, battled dense smoke and heavy flames to get the children out, struggling to get one of the children who was restrained in a car seat. Shortly after Snyder got the final victim out, the car became engulfed with flames. Snyder, 33, was one of 24 individuals chosen to receive the prestigious medal, which also comes with a grant of $3,500. Since the fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, $25.3 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits and continuing assistance. Recalling the incident in July for The Citizen, Snyder said he had plenty of help and he shunned the "hero" label. "I said, 'God, please help me,'" Snyder said, recalling the difficulty of getting the baby out of the car. "I couldn't see anymore because the smoke was so intense." When he got home, Snyder realized his nylon socks had melted due to the intense heat. His knuckles were also skinned up badly. "It was divine intervention. It really wasn't me." Daphne Pouncil, the mother of the children, contacted The Citizen recently to pass along her thanks to Snyder for his heroic efforts. "As of today all the children are doing fine and again, thank you and Merry Christmas," she wrote.
|
||