A 20-year-old truck driver from Brampton, Ontario, is one of 17 civilian heroes honored for acts of heroism that will receive medals for bravery from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.
Harmanjeet Singh Gill, was driving Aug. 29, 2018, in Brampton when he saw a violent crash in which an SUV struck several vehicles and landed on its driver’s side a few feet from a house. Large flames burned at the vehicle’s rear, and Gill responded to the scene.
Harmanjeet Singh Gill
Gill extended his head and arms through the car’s sunroof and pulled one of the three men inside to safety. Gill returned to the vehicle and dragged a second man to safety. Returning to the car to remove the third man, Gill had difficulty. With the help of a teen who also responded to the scene, Gill broke the sunroof to create a larger opening. They then pulled the third man to safety. The car was shortly engulfed in flames, which spread to another car and impinged on the house.
Gill and 16 other heroes honored last month were among a total of 72 people honored with Cagnegie awards in 2020.
The Carnegie Medal is given throughout the U.S. and Canada to those who enter mortal danger while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. With this fourth and final announcement of 2020 recipients, a total of 10,202 Carnegie Medals have been awarded since the Pittsburgh-based Fund’s inception in 1904.
Commission Chair Mark Laskow said each of the awardees or their survivors will also receive a financial grant. Throughout the 116 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, more than $42 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.
