Whitwell man honored for rescue attempt at Ketner’s Mill in 2015

Nearly two years after a Whitwell man drowned while trying to save two swimmers caught in the deadly current at Ketner’s Mill, he is being posthumously awarded the Carnegie Medal for his actions.

Jeromy Richardson, 35, is one of the first 20 award recipients this year and one of three who died in their attempts to save others, according to a release from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.

On July 16, 2015, Richardson was fishing at Ketner’s Mill when a man swimming above the overhead dam, Charles Hurt, was swept over the edge and into the dangerous water below.

Hurt’s brother, Lebron Hurt, dove in to save him. Richardson entered the water to save them before returning to the bank and grabbing a board to extend to the swimmers. However, he lost his footing and fell into the water, as well. All three were lost in the current.

The day after the accident, Steve Lamb, director of the Marion County Emergency Management Agency, said it was tied for the most people he’d ever seen drown at one time at Ketner’s Mill.

The dam at Ketner’s Mill is particularly dangerous because, like most overhead dams, the water flow creates an inescapable current of water at the bottom that can trap anyone caught in it.

“Anytime you got an overhead dam, the water gets rolling,” he said.

The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission was established by Andrew Carnegie, a steel mogul and one of the nation’s earliest millionaires, to celebrate “acts of outstanding civilian heroism,” according to the release.

“The medal is awarded throughout the United States and Canada to those who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others,” the release stated.

A total of 9,934 people have received the award since it was founded 113 years ago.

The fund also has distributed $38.9 million in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits and continuing assistance, according to the release.

The surviving members of Richardson’s family will receive a financial grant, but it was unclear from the release how much that will be.

Nominations for the Carnegie Medal can be submitted to the commission by calling 1-800-447-8900 or by emailing carnegiehero@ carnegiehero.org.