Eddie Hunnell had driven four hours from Holly Springs, North Carolina, to watch his son get married. He made it to the rehearsal. He did not expect it to become the defining moment of his life.

The Storm Hit at the Worst Possible Time

On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene's floodwaters tore through Grassy Creek, a small community in Ashe County, North Carolina. The North Fork New River surged over its banks, carrying trees, vehicles, and entire houses downstream.

Hunnell, a 57-year-old software engineer, was at the River House Inn for his son's wedding rehearsal when the town around them started coming apart.

A House in the River

Leslie Worth, 66, lived nearby. The floodwater knocked her house off its foundation and swept it into the river.

With her home disintegrating around her, Worth jumped from a second-story window wearing a life jacket.

She landed in the North Fork New River and was immediately swept downstream at an estimated 8 mph - carried along among the wreckage of her own house.

He Could Not Watch Her Float By

Hunnell climbed into a canoe downstream and spotted Worth moving toward him. He tried to paddle upstream to reach her, but the current was too strong.

He had one option left. He jumped overboard.

Bystanders on the bank were shouting for him to jump as he dove in wearing a life vest. "I couldn't watch her just float by ... so I jumped in," Hunnell later said.

Six Hundred Feet Together

Hunnell intercepted Worth mid-river, grabbed her life vest, and told her to float on her back.

He held on as the river carried them approximately 600 feet downstream, steering them toward slower water as the North Fork widened.

They reached the bank together. Worth had no injuries. Hunnell was tired but unhurt.

His biggest fear during the rescue, he later said, was not the current - it was the debris from her house floating around them in the water.

A Dinner Guest Nobody Expected

That evening, Leslie Worth and her husband attended the rehearsal dinner for Hunnell's son's wedding.

In June 2025, Eddie Hunnell received the Carnegie Medal - North America's highest civilian award for heroism, given by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.

The medal is awarded to civilians in the United States and Canada who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree to save the lives of others.

Of the thousands of acts considered each year, only a small number are awarded.

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