Teen heroes. (The Goodness of America).

On March 3, 2001 in Geneva, Ohio, Jefferey E. Finehout, 39, emerged from a flatbed truck when the vehicle, its engine still running, began rolling backward down a slight grade. Grasping the door handle with one hand and the steering wheel with the other, Finehout was dragged with his legs dangling beneath the truck.

High school student Oliver J. Wood, 17, was working in front of a store about 250 feet away on the same street when he noticed the runaway truck approaching at about 20 miles per hour. As it passed, the youth leaped over Finehout and into the cab, where he managed to press his hand on the brake pedal until the flatbed stopped.

Finehout suffered some skin abrasions, and Oliver sustained a minor knee injury, but they were otherwise unharmed. In March of this year, young Wood received a Carnegie Medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission. The award is given to those who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.

Another incident involving a teen hero occurred on June 26, 2001, as Heidi Wright, 18, was wading with her sister and brother in the Pacific Ocean near Ocean Shores, Washington. When a seaward current prevented them from returning to shore, the women began yelling for help, attracting the attention of 15-year-old Robert John Feczko of Redmond. Without hesitating, he removed his outer garments, then waded and swam some 600 feet to Heidi, who was by then being supported with difficulty by her brother. Robert grasped her and attempted to swim to shore, but was hindered by the strong current. He stayed with her, however, keeping her head above water until members of a surf rescue team reached them.

In October of this year, Robert, too, was awarded a Carnegie Medal.