Holly Springs hero Eddie Hunnell awarded Carnegie Medal for river rescue during Hurricane Helene

A Holly Springs man was honored with a Carnegie Medal for risking his life to save a 66-year-old woman from the river during Hurricane Helene. 

The Carnegie Medal is considered North America’s highest honor for civilian heroism, according to the press release. 

The Carnegie Hero Fund awards the Carnegie Medal to people from throughout the U.S. and Canada who risk themselves to an extraordinary degree saving or attempting to save the lives of others. 

Eddie Hunnell, a 57-year-old software engineer, was recognized for his heroic act of saving Leslie Worth after she jumped into a river from her house.

In late September 2024, during Hurricane Helene, the flooded North Fork New River knocked Worth’s Grassy Creek home from its foundation.

Worth jumped out of a window into the river while wearing a life jacket and was swept downstream in currents estimated at 8 mph, along with her house, furniture, trees and other debris. 

Hunnell was at a wedding rehearsal when he climbed into a canoe downstream and tried to paddle upstream to reach Worth, but he could not make progress against the current. 

He said he then had to opt for “Plan B,” where he jumped overboard and swam to the middle of the river to get to Worth, where he grabbed her life vest. He told her to float on her back and hold onto him as the river carried them about 600 feet to an area where the river widened and grew calmer. 

There, Hunnell was able to swim 15 feet across the weakened current while carrying Worth to an area where there was almost no current. He swam another 20 feet and reached an eddy where he was able to stand to help Worth out of the water with the help of bystanders. 

Worth was not injured and while Hunnell was tired from the rescue, he was also not hurt. 

Hunnell is recognized alongside 16 other people for the Carnegie Medal.