Driver receives Carnegie Medal for rescuing high school student injured in 2023 bus-truck crash

An Ohio truck driver was one of 17 people to recently receive the highest civilian honor for heroism.

Joshua Chieka, 37, of Piedmont, Ohio received a Carnegie Medal for heroism he displayed at the scene of a collision between a tour bus loaded with high school students and a tractor-trailer.

Chieka rescued Brynn Goedel, one of 52 students and three faculty members on the bus headed to a band event when it was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer. The collision and fire occurred Nov. 14, 2023 on Interstate 70 near Etna, Ohio.

A statement about the award from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission said:

Joshua Chieka and Brynn GoedelCarnegie FoundationA fire broke out at the tractor-trailer and a second vehicle that then spread to the rear of the bus. While the majority of the bus passengers were able to evacuate, Goedel, who had been standing in the aisle attempting to access the bathroom at the moment of impact, was thrown about 15 feet and suffered severe injuries that rendered her immobile. 

Driving nearby, Chieka saw flames issuing from the bus. He stopped and ran to the bus, where he entered through the open bus door and ascended the stairs after learning from chaperones that other students remained on the bus. 

Chieka then crouched down and moved about 30 feet toward the rear of the bus amid floor-to-ceiling smoke while reaching his hands out, trying to locate passengers. He then felt his hands brush Brynn. He grasped her and, while maintaining the crouched position, dragged her backward toward the front of the bus where, with the help of chaperones, Chieka moved Brynn to the shoulder of the highway, where emergency personnel eventually retrieved her and transported her to a nearby hospital. 

Goedel suffered multiple pelvic fractures, rib fractures, a broken clavicle, a lacerated bladder, small burns to each side of her face, a second-degree burn on her left upper arm, and a concussion. She remained in the hospital for 43 days and underwent four surgeries before recovering.

Chieka inhaled smoke and suffered a small burn to his right forearm. He received medical treatment at a nearby hospital and recovered.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the crash, and said driver inattention was the cause of the crash that killed a total of six people, and injurer more than 40. The truck slammed into a line of traffic that had stopped because of an. earlier collision.

Jacob D. McDonald, 61, the driver of the tractor-trailer the crashed and caught fire, was found guilty of vehicular homicide and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He is due to be released next month.

The Carnegie Medal is given throughout the U.S. and Canada to those who enter extreme danger while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. With this announcement, the Carnegie Medal has been awarded to 10,545 individuals since the inception of the Pittsburgh-based Fund in 1904. Each of the recipients or their survivors will receive a financial grant. 

Throughout the 121 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, more than $45 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.