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

Larry Pickett Sr and his son, a US army cadet, pulled David Denton from vehicle fire in upstate New York in 2025

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.