North Carolina father and son receive hero awards for saving man from burning car

A North Carolina man who helped his son – a player for the US army academy college football team – pull a wrecked car’s driver out of the vehicle moments before it burst into flames has earned the highest honor for civilian heroism in the United States and Canada.

Larry Pickett Sr earned the Carnegie medal for heroism for a daring rescue alongside his son, Larry Pickett Jr, on 31 August 2025 outside Fort Montgomery, New York, that was captured in headline-grabbing cellphone video, according to a recent announcement from the non-profit organization that administers the award.

A statement from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission said the motorist whom the Picketts rescued – 65-year-old David N Denton – was semiconscious inside his sport utility vehicle after it left a roadway and struck a power pole. The crash caused the pole and power lines – carrying a total of at least 14,000 volts – to fall on to the road and Denton’s SUV as Pickett Sr, 46, drove by the wreckage with his family.

Pickett Sr immediately parked before he and Pickett Jr, 20, realized Denton was semiconscious inside his SUV, which had flames burning on the exterior of its passenger side, according to the Carnegie commission. The father and son then advanced toward Denton, opened his driver’s door and each took turns reaching in for him, stepping over a perilous downed power line and evidence of electrical arcing beneath the crashed SUV, the commission’s statement said.

Pickett Sr successfully removed Denton’s seatbelt after four tries. He and his son together then freed Denton from the car, the commission recounted.

The elder Pickett then tripped and fell next to the car – within inches of one of the downed power lines. But he quickly got back on his feet, and Pickett Jr carried Denton across the four-lane road and laid him down on grass, the commission said.

The commission noted that an eruption of flames enveloped Denton’s car mere seconds later. Firefighters subsequently arrived to extinguish the blaze from a distance out of caution for the live power lines nearby. The power was not shut off until after that – and even then, it was done remotely, according to the commission.

“A fire chief at the scene and an electrical engineer later consulted about the incident both agreed that the car’s exterior and surrounding area should have been electrified under the circumstances and could not explain how Pickett, his son and Denton avoided electrocution,” the Carnegie commission’s statement said.

Denton emerged from the dramatic episode with only abrasions. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment, was discharged and ultimately recovered.

Neither of the Picketts was injured.

On the night that he and his father crossed paths with Denton, Pickett Jr had just played a game for the army college football squad at its home stadium in West Point, New York. He and his family encountered Denton’s crash on their return trip from having dinner at Times Square in New York City.

Pickett Jr’s sister, Lauren, recorded video of his and Pickett Sr’s efforts to save Denton.

The footage – widely circulated on social media – captured a woman screaming, “Larry, come on! Come on, get him out – that’s it!” Viewers can see the car engulfed in fire and surrounded by sparking wires.

In another part of the video, a confused man can be heard saying over popping sounds in the background, “What car is this?” Another man can be heard saying, “That’s your car. You hear it? That’s the tires popping.”

Pickett Sr later spoke with WTVD of his home town Raleigh, North Carolina, and explained how there was “no discussion” between him and his son about whether to aid Denton.

“My son just jumped right into action,” Pickett Sr, a business owner, told the news station. “He mentioned his military training kicked in, and we pulled him out.”

Of his namesake, Pickett Sr also said to the channel: “It’s just amazing to see him in action. And it’s just not surprising because we’ve watched him his whole life do amazing things.”

Pickett Jr received the US army’s soldier’s medal in March, which is the military branch’s highest honor for noncombat actions.

Pickett Sr was among 16 Carnegie medal recipients named on Monday. The medal recognizes those in the US and Canada “who enter extreme danger while saving or attempting to save the lives of others”, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission said.

Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie created that commission after two men sacrificed their lives attempting to rescue others after a deadly 1904 coal-mining accident.

The Carnegie medal has been awarded to nearly 10,600 individuals since its inception, with more than $47m being given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits and continuing assistance, according to the hero fund commission.