A Maryland man who jumped into a bay from a bridge to rescue a drowning toddler has been awarded the Carnegie Medal, a national honor that recognizes civilians who put themselves in dangerous situations to save others.
Jonathan Bauer of Berlin is among the 17 medal recipients that the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission announced on Dec. 20. He will also receive a financial grant.
The 51-year-old leapt into the Assawoman Bay in Ocean City on May 2 to save a girl who was ejected from her family’s pickup truck during a five-vehicle crash on the Route 90 bridge.
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Bauer was on the bridge, and he got out of his vehicle to check on the truck that teetered over the guardrail. After noticing an empty car seat and the toddler in the bay, he jumped 30 feet (9 meters) into the water.
The child was unresponsive, and Bauer patted her back until she coughed and spit up water. She was airlifted to a hospital in Baltimore and was expected to make a full recovery upon release.
Bauer initially wanted to remain anonymous but later decided to come forward and met with some of the first responders who served at the scene of the crash, according to The Daily Times.
