PALATKA, Fla. – Sheriff Jeff Hardy presented lifesaving awards to two Putnam County deputies and Certificate of Courage awards to two citizens Tuesday as the result of their pulling a crash victim out of a burning car in June.
According the Sheriff's Office, Detective Angela Goins and Sgt. Chris Bohannon were investigating a missing person call in the East Palatka area and heard a call of an overturned vehicle on fire with someone trapped inside on County Road 207A.
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Realizing that they were the closest deputies, Goins and Bohannon rushed to the scene where they found Garrett Armstrong fighting the fire with his fire extinguisher while Scott Westney was removing the windshield trying to free Luke Owens, who was trapped inside. The two deputies assisted Armstrong knocking down the fire with extinguishers while Bohannon and Westney were able to free Owens' legs and remove him from the burning vehicle.
All of this transpired before the arrival of the fire department. Owens' vehicle was ultimately engulfed in flames and completely burned.
"The heroic actions taken by Sgt. Bohannon, Detective Goins, Garrett Armstrong and Scott Westney undeniably contributed to the saving of the life of a fellow human being while placing themselves in personal danger," Hardy said.