Medal of Bravery
Awarded on: 1998-06-25
Invested on: 1999-05-10
On August 1, 1997, Paramedic John Lewis rescued a driver and his seven-year-old son from a burning tractor-trailer near Kingston, Nova Scotia. Mr. Lewis was riding home on his motorcycle when he witnessed a burning tractor-trailer skid across the highway after a head-on collision with a minivan, and stop at the side of the road. As the driver's side was on fire from a ruptured fuel tank, Mr. Lewis tried to open the passenger door to reach the driver who was slumped against the steering wheel. Struggling in vain with the door, he noticed a child's feet protruding from underneath the seat. He pulled the boy out through the window and handed him to a bystander. With flames now reaching over the driver's window and the cab, Mr. Lewis reached inside and dragged the severely injured man through the opening moments before fire destroyed the vehicle.