Star of Courage

• Awarded on: February 25, 2010
• Invested on: February 08, 2011

Miguel Gonzalez, S.C.
Luc Paquette, S.C.
Star of Courage

On October 28, 2008, Miguel Gonzalez and Luc Paquette jumped into the freezing waters of the St. Lawrence River, in Québec City, to rescue an injured co-worker from a possible drowning. The victim had been driving his forklift close to the edge of the wharf when it got stuck on a loose board and fell into the river between the dock and a large ship. Witnessing this, Mr. Gonzalez jumped into the water and held onto his unconscious colleague. Mr. Gonzalez rapidly began to feel the effects of hypothermia, but would not let go of the nearly drowned man. When alerted that the victim had stopped breathing, Mr. Paquette jumped in and managed to revive him. The two rescuers stayed in the polluted, frigid water for nearly 20 minutes until emergency crews pulled them to safety.