A hero has been awarded in Colorado thanks to saving a life in the area of Vail last July.

John Chase, 53, was biking on a trail about 75 feet above Vail-area Gore Creek with his wife when he saw 80-year-old Joseph Radtke get swept downstream during a day of fishing. Radtke had gotten into deeper water to pull his dog to safety when he fell to his knees and was swept into rapids, rendering him unconscious.

Chase sprung into action, zipping about 600 feet down the trail on his bike to a gap in a tall fence that allowed him to access the creek at a point ahead of Radtke.

Chase slid down a steep embankment into the 56-degree water and moved to a rock in the middle of the creek. He then leapt into the water to pull Radtke out as his body passed by, holding Radtke with one arm while using the other arm to paddle to shore.

The two were carried roughly 225 feet downstream before they reached shallower water, ultimately able to make it to shore with the help of another bystander.

Once at shore, Radtke wasn’t breathing, so Chase started to administer CPR. First responders soon arrived at the scene and took over the live-saving measures, able to successfully revive Radtke.

After six days of hospitalization, Radtke made a full recovery.

Chase was one of 18 recipients of the Carnegie Medal given out in the fourth round of award announcements for 2023. As defined by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, the award is “North America’s highest honor for civilian heroism. The heroes who receive this award are honored due to risking extreme injury or death to save another person. A total of 10,405 people have received the award since 1904.

This is the same award that was received by Colorado’s Mickey Wilson earlier this year for his actions in 2017 that saved the life of a man at Arapahoe Basin ski area. A slackliner by profession, Wilson scaled a lift and shimmied down the lift line to save a man who was being choked by his backpack as he dangled below a lift chair.

Congrats goes out to all Carnegie Medal recipients. Read more about the award here.