Former Beaufort County resident Brian McCarter has been honored with a Carnegie Medal, recognizing “acts of extraordinary heroism,” for saving his neighbor from an alligator attack in 2020 on Callawassie Island.
On July 3, 2020, McCarter saw his neighbor, Carol DeLillo in distress in the pond outside of her house. She had been dragged into the water by a nearly 300 pound alligator, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission said.
Seeing her in peril, McCarter got into the pond and tried to pull her out, but wasn’t able to. They were pulled under water before he was able to finally free her.
The victim underwent multiple surgeries but regained the ability to walk with assistance, the Commission said. The gator was euthanized by SCDNR.
McCarter said he was speechless when he learned he was awarded the Carnegie Medal.
“It’s a great honor. I never wanted anything for what happened,” McCarter said. “I just saw some woman in the water; I had to act. I couldn’t just stand there and watch someone drown.”
At the time of the incident, SCDNR reported a neighbor, McCarter, thought she was actually drowning and jumped in to help her, not knowing that she had been pulled in by an alligator.
The Carnegie Medal, North America’s highest honor for civilian heroism, is given throughout the U.S. and Canada to those who enter extreme danger while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.
The Carnegie Hero Fund awards the Carnegie Medal to individuals in the United States and Canada who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree saving or attempting to save the lives of others. McCarter received the medal from Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner. (video below)
According to other news stories, McCarter sold his house in Okatie days before the alligator attack, and has since moved to Statesboro, Georgia.
He said he knew he was nominated for the Carnegie Medal but didn’t expect to be chosen for it.
He said the incident showed that more Lowcountry residents need to learn how to handle alligators to avoid future attacks.
We’re proud to have the Carnegie Medal associated with Beaufort.
