Carnegie Medal for Heroism presented to SRU grad student
SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock University graduate student Sgt. David Phillip Duffey was still wearing his Army National Guard uniform from an earlier training when he witnessed a tractor-trailer crash on a highway, pulled off to the side of the road in Irwin, and hoisted Shune E. Moore, 56, out of a broken window mere seconds before the vehicle exploded.
He called that day nearly two years ago — in which Moore experienced only minimal injuries — “a miracle.”
Duffey, of Midway, Washington County, was presented with the Carnegie Medal for civilian heroism at a campus ceremony on Thursday, March 7.
“So many different things that normally never would happen happened in order for me to be in that situation and for everyone to be OK,” Duffey said after the ceremony.
During the event, he told members of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, university staff and family members that he remembers the tractor-trailer crash that occurred on Oct. 16, 2022 very clearly.
He recalled witnessing how the semi-truck in front of him veered off the highway, coming to a sudden collision into a guardrail driving 60 or 70 mph.
“I was in shock,” he said.
In the moment, Duffey could have switched lanes and continued to drive, but said he “wouldn’t be able to do that as a person.” Instead, Duffey pulled over, his first instinct to check on the driver.
At first, Duffey couldn’t see Moore. The cab was completely twisted, and Duffey recalled seeing a “line of fire.”
Duffey said he tried to flag down other drivers, hoping someone would call 911 before he heard a voice coming from the vehicle and immediately turned back.
He hoisted himself over the twisted vehicle through a broken window and managed to extricate the truck driver with the help of another man. Duffey recalled seeing the fire grow inside the vehicle, as well as spilled fuel.
During the ceremony, Eric Zahren, president of the Carnegie Hero Fund, read the official account, and how Duffey and the other man had pulled Moore out of the vehicle just seven feet away from the crash when the truck exploded and burst into 15-foot flames and black smoke. The explosion knocked Duffey to the ground, through which he said he kept holding Moore’s arm.
Susan Rizza, one of the Carnegie Hero Fund’s case investigators, said she was struck by footage of the rescue sent to the organization by a witness.
Rizza described seeing flames and gasoline on video.
The cab was turned 180 degrees toward the sky, the vehicle unrecognizable, said Jewels Phraner, communications director for Carnegie Hero.
Afterward, Duffey said he went “into sergeant mode” as passersby grew flustered, instructing others to assist him in moving Moore closer to safety.
After assessing Moore for injuries, he gave a report to state troopers, and then drove home.
“To be honest, I’m still processing everything,” Duffey said. “It’s something that kind of sticks with you.”
Zahren said each person who is awarded the medal demonstrates awareness, genuine concern, as well as confidence to “overcome the paralysis of fear.” Fifth, he said, is courage.
“Courage is hard to come by,” Zahren said. “It can only be tested in the reality of the moment of truth. (Courage) often surprises us, sometimes by its absence, and often by its presence in those moments. It’s never to be taken for granted. It’s a gift to the recipient and all who benefit from it as a result.”
“I hope that we all take away something from your modeling, and leave hearing your story a little more thoughtful, a little more grateful for what has been given to us and a little more willing to sacrifice for someone else,” said SRU president Karen Riley.
