Gary Thomas of Ashland, Alabama has been awarded the Red Cross Certificate of Merit for saving a man’s life following an April 13, 2022 car accident.
The certificate is “the highest award given by the Red Cross to individuals who save or sustain a life using skills learned in a Red Cross Training Services course and is signed by the President of the United States.”
Thomas stated that as he approached the accident on Highway 77 near Ashland, “I noticed a big fireball on the side of the road, and as I was approaching I was thinking to myself who in the world would be burning trash at 4:00 in the morning on the side of the road?” Thomas freed a trapped driver and called for help. He said, “I waited for the fire department to get there. I knew I had to get him out of the car. I knew that’s as somebody’s father or somebody’s son or husband.” During the rescue Thomas received minor burns to his arms.
