‘Humble Hero’ Honored With Carnegie Medal For Saving Child Ejected From Vehicle On Bridge

‘Humble Hero’ Honored With Carnegie Medal For Saving Child Ejected From Vehicle On Bridge
Wendy, Jonathan and Ava Bauer are pictured at a May press conference after his heroic rescue.

OCEAN CITY — The “humble hero” who leaped from the Route 90 bridge into the water below to save an infant last May has been recognized with the Carnegie Medal, the highest honor in North America for civilian heroism.

The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission on Monday announced Jonathan Bauer, vice president of information services at Atlantic General Hospital, will be one of 17 Americans to receive the Carnegie Medal. The honor is bestowed by Carnegie Hero Fund to those who enter extreme danger while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.

Bauer certainly fits the bill for his heroic actions following a multi-vehicle accident on the Route 90 bridge when he leaped from the span to rescue a two-year-old child who had been ejected in her car seat from one of the vehicles involved into the bay below.

Since famed philanthropist Andrew Carnegie founded the hero fund and the award in 1904, the organization has recognized over 10,000 honorees with the award. Commission Chair Mark Laskow said each of the awardees or their survivors in five cases, will also receive a financial grant. Since the fund was established in 1904, over $43 million has been given to recipients in the form of one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits and continuing assistance.

The single event leading Carnegie to organize the fund was the Harwick mine disaster in Pennsylvania in 1904 which claimed 181 lives. The victims included an engineer and a miner who went back into the mine in a valiant attempt to rescue others. That tragedy and the sacrifices made by the selfless rescuers prompted Carnegie to take action to honor and help what he called the “heroes of civilization.”

“I do not expect to stimulate or create heroism by this fund, knowing well that heroic action is impulsive,” he wrote at the time. “But, I do believe if the hero is injured in his bold attempt to serve or save his fellows, he and those dependent upon him should not suffer pecuniarily.”

On May 2, a multi-vehicle crash on the Route 90 bridge resulted in a pick-up truck dangling from the bridge railing and a two-year-old infant ejected into the bay below. Allied law enforcement agencies responded immediately, and each did their respective jobs to ensure the safety of all involved as they are trained to do.

Bauer, who throughout the days that followed wished to remain anonymous, jumped from the bridge into the bay and rescued the child. Bauer and the child were picked up by the local Oertel family’s pontoon boat and transported to the public boat ramp at 65th Street where paramedics awaited. The child was flown to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore via Maryland State Police Trooper 4 helicopter in stable condition. Seven others were injured in the multi-vehicle collision and were triaged on the bridge before being transported via ambulance to area hospitals. The child was released from the hospital the following day.

At a press conference following the event, Bauer recounted the incident, saying, “When I looked over (the railing), I saw the car seat and some other items, and about six feet away from the car seat was a little girl. She was on her back, completely floating, head completely out of the water, arms moving, legs kicking and a little pink dress. At that point, I looked around and didn’t see any boats in the area. I told Ava to stay right there and don’t move. I didn’t have any choice but to jump over. … I hit feet first, then knees, and then arms, and I was fine. I popped up and swam to the girl. When I looked at her, her mouth was open, and her eyes were semi-open. I put her against my shoulder very high and aggressively patted her on the back and within seconds, she spit up water, a lot of water. She started coughing up a lot of water. I patted her on the back for about five minutes until the pontoon boat showed up.”

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.