| Name: | Todd Zobrist |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Highland-Pierron Fire Protection District |
| Type of Firefighter: | |
| Rank: | Paramedic/Emergency Medical Technician |
| Type of Duty: | Vehicle rescue, Vehicle rescue, Water rescue operations, Water rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Honor |
| Year of Award: | 2018 |
| Incident City: | Highland |
| Year of Incident: | 2017 |
| Incident Location Type: | Water/Waterfront |
| Incident Attribute: |
Paramedic Todd Zobrist of the Highland-Pierron Fire Department is the recipient of the Medal of Honor for his efforts to rescue an infant from a car that had been driven into a lake.
On March 16, 2017, Zobrist and members of the Highland Ambulance Service responded to a call of a car being driven into a lake. When they arrived, they found the vehicle with only 12 to 15 inches of the car above water.
Zobrist jumped into 45-degree water and swam about 75 feet into Silver Lake. He was able to pull the unresponsive, 3-month old infant from the car, and began CPR immediately. He thought he could do more for the child on land, so he swam back to shore on his back, while holding the infant above his head. Due to the temperature of the water, Zobrist was treated for hypothermia at the emergency room.
Citations:
"Highland paramedic Zobrist honored as ‘hero’ by state for saving infant," The Telegraph Website. May 22, 2017.
"Hero paramedic in Highland: 'Everything aligned perfectly'," St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 18, 2017.
"Former Highland paramedic receives state Medal of Honor for rescuing baby from lake," Belleville News-Democrat.