GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — A Triad man is receiving international recognition for his bravery thanks to his quick actions, he saved a woman's life.
"You just get that feeling. God said, go do something," said Daniel Weiss.
On May 17, 2022, it was a regular workday for facility technician Daniel Weiss.
"A coworker and myself were working on Alamance Church Road and we were working on a fiber cable, and we parked off the side of the road and all of a sudden I heard a noise," Weiss said.
That's when Weiss said he saw car parts fly into the air. Just steps away from where he was working, a car had ran off into an embankment, hitting a tree near Highway 62.
A woman was still inside unconscious.
Weiss said he bolted toward the car which was moments away from catching on fire.
"I couldn't leave her in there. So, I turned her so that her back was towards me so that I had my knees on the passenger seat and I reached around her picked her up over the center column and took her right out of the side."
The photo below show the car unrecognizable and engulfed in flames.
Weiss's actions saved the woman's life and thanks to his good deed—the 59-year-old was awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism.
This is a medal given 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.
"Only about 11% of the people that are nominated do meet the requirements and receive the Carnegie Medal," said Jewels Phraner, Director of Outreach and Communications with the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.
Phraner says nominees go through an investigation process that could take months to years.
"What we are doing is evaluating each case individually to determine, does this person meet the Carnegie Medal requirements," Phraner said.
Today, the father of three says doesn't like the word hero. He says he was just doing what he was supposed to do.
"I'm a person who was at work and fortunately, I what was going on and got her out. God said, "Hey! Go take care of this,' and that's what I did," Weiss said.