PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission is honoring 13 people with medals for risking their lives for others, including two people who died in the process.
Kevin Roberts, of Mount Lookout, W.Va., was 43 when he died in June 2012 trying to save four youths from drowning off North Carolina. Michael Wayne Pirie, of Oviedo, Fla., was 18 when he died of hypothermia and other issues while trying to save another college student who became trapped while exploring a cave in Georgia in February 2011.
Medals are being awarded Tuesday. The honorees or their surviving relatives also receive a financial grant.
The fund was established in 1904 by Pittsburgh industrialist Andrew Carnegie. He was inspired by rescue stories from a mine disaster that killed 181 people.
Winners are announced five times a year.
