http://www.postgazette.com/pg/08102/872343-85.stmLocal steel worker's heroism rewarded
Friday, April 11, 2008
By Moriah Balingit, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Rather than save himself, steel worker Michael J. Carney saved his co-worker.
On Aug. 24, 2004, he and John Ressani were working to replace the 14-ton rolls used to flatten steel at the Allegheny Ludlum mill in Vandergrift. An equipment malfunction caused the unsecured end of a roll to come barreling down on them.
Mr. Carney shouted at Mr. Ressani and shoved him out of the way, saving his life. Mr. Carney did not have enough time to get out of the roll's path and was struck and killed.
Had Mr. Carney not pushed him out of the way, "what happened to him would have happened to me," said Mr. Ressani, 51, who escaped with bruises.
Yesterday, six days before what would have been Mr. Carney's 54th birthday, the Carnegie Hero Fund announced that he was one of 22 recipients of the Carnegie Medal, an award given to civilians who risk their lives in rescue attempts. About 100 people are honored annually in four award cycles.
Five of this cycle's recipients died while rescuing others and will receive the award posthumously. Mr. Carney was nominated for the award in 2006 by the United Steelworkers union, following its investigation into the incident.
FULL story at link.