Centerville man honored with civilian heroism award for rescuing couple from plane crash in 2020

NEW CARLISLE — A Centerville man was recognized with a national award for heroism for helping save a couple from a fiery plane crash in New Carlisle in 2020.

>>PREVIOUS REPORT: 2 injured in fiery plane crash at New Carlisle airport

The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission announced their first round of recipients of the Carnegie Medal, which the organization said is the highest honor for civilian heroism.

Included in the 18 named recipients was Patrick Driscoll who rescued two people from a crashed plane in New Carlisle as it caught fire. The crash happened at the New Carlisle airport on in the 10,000 block of Milton Carlisle Road, east of New Carlisle October, 13 2020.

A preliminary investigation found that as the plane attempted to land, it hit the grass landing and overturned, causing the plane to catch fire, state troopers told News Center 7 the day of the crash.

The two occupants inside the plane, Joyce Seymour and Timothy Seymour, were still inside the cockpit of the plane as the engine compartment caught fire, a spokesperson for the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission said in a media release Tuesday. After seeing the crash Driscoll ran to the wreckage and worked to release the seat belts of the Seymours.

>>PHOTOS: Fiery plane crash at New Carlisle airport under investigation

After freeing Joyce’s seatbelt he helped her get out and away from the plane before going back for Timothy, the spokesperson said.

“Driscoll then ran to the wing at the pilot’s side as the flames intensified and spread toward the cockpit. Driscoll again crouched on a wing, released Timothy’s seat belt, and pulled Timothy, who was larger than him, from the plane as another man arrived with a fire extinguisher,” the spokesperson said.

The fire would destroy the plane and the flames singed Driscoll’s head but he later recovered. State troopers said the day of the crash both crash victims suffered minor injuries and were taken to Sion Medical Center for treatment.

The Carnegie Hero Fund was established by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1904 to “to recognize outstanding acts of selfless heroism performed in the United States and Canada,” the organization states. Carnegie established the fund after a deadly mine disaster near Pittsburg that killed 181 people.

The organization has awarded over $40 million to over 10,000 awardees or their survivors during the time of the fund’s existence.

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