Bolingbrook Lifeguard Receives Carnegie Hero Medal for Saving Drowning Teen

A Bolingbrook man is one of 18 people from the U.S. and Canada who recently were awarded the Carnegie medal, given to those who have performed "extraordinary acts of civilian heroism."

Christopher Johnson, of Bolingbrook, braved icy waters to save a 15-year-old from drowning last year. Johnson was 20 at the time. 

On Dec. 11, 2011, 15-year-old Quintin Sconyers broke through the ice on a retention pond and was unable to climb from the open water. 

Johnson, a lifeguard at Pelican Harbor, crawled onto the ice with a rescue tube to make his way to Sconyers. As Johnson approached, Sconyers went under the water, and Johnson immediatley went under water, grabbed Sconyers and attempted to break through the ice to make a path to land. 

Firefighters arrived and retrieved both Johnson and Sconyers. Both were treated for hypothermia. Johnson wa also treated for abrasions. Both recovered. 

The medal is given throughout the United States and Canada to those "who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others." The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission distributes the award. Eighty-one medals were distributed this year.

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