Vice Mayor Mark Zeitler, left, presented Carnegie Hero Jakob Thompson with the Carnegie Medal during a Lantana, Florida, town council meeting on July 8.
Thompson received the Carnegie Medal after he saved a woman from drowning on Nov. 30, 2023, near Ocean Ridge, Florida. The 35-year-old woman entered the Boynton Inlet, which was flanked by seawalls that made an exit from the water extremely difficult. A strong outgoing tide carried her rapidly toward the Atlantic Ocean. A local fire lieutenant described the location as “one of the most dangerous inlets in South Florida.”
As the woman struggled to swim in water 17-feet-deep, 17-year-old Jakob Thompson was nearby and saw a group of people trying to help the woman unsuccessfully. He drove to the scene and took a running jump after he removed his shirt. He landed feet-first in the water and swam to the woman. Thompson managed to intercept her, secure her, and then tow her with one arm back to the seawall. Although the woman was exhausted, she did not struggle. Thompson held the woman to the wall until two men responded to pull her to safety atop the wall. He exited on his own as first responders arrived and took the woman to the hospital. Thompson had minor cuts on his hands and feet from the barnacles covering the seawall.
“On behalf of the town council and everyone here tonight, I commend you for your extraordinary act of heroism,” Zeitler said to Thompson.
“It’s an honor to receive this award,” Thompson said. “When the incident happened, I wasn’t thinking long term. I wasn’t thinking about what I would gain from it. I just wanted to save a life.”
Vice Mayor Kem Mason spoke up to commend Thompson and his act of bravery.
“I was a lifeguard for 8 years … to do something like that takes a lot of courage. That would be a hard task even for a lifeguard to accomplish in that water, that’s taken many lives,” Mason said. “For you to do that, that’s incredible. I hope you go on to be a lifesaver.”
“I’ve been more than blessed with receiving the scholarships that I have through Sarah Perry and Aden Perry (Good Samaritan Scholarship Fund), and the Carnegie award,” Thompson said.
Thompson’s act of heroism had caught the attention of Sarah Perry, the mother of Carnegie Hero Aden Perry, who died in 2022 trying to save a man from drowning. Aden received the Carnegie Medal posthumously. His mother established and has managed the Aden Perry Good Samaritan Scholarship Fund, which aims to raise money and grant scholarships to students who perform heroic acts.
Thompson was the first such recipient of the scholarship, and expressed a similar humility after he received both the scholarship and the Carnegie Medal.
“Putting my life out there to help somebody came with a reward, but I was never looking for one,” said Thompson.