Carnegie Hero Tyler Badet poses with U.S. Rep. Scott Peters, who presented the Carnegie Medal to him at a Dec. 19 private ceremony held at Peters’ district office in San Diego.
In January 2021, Badet rescued a couple who had entered the Pacific Ocean from San Diego’s seaside cliffs and struggled in the choppy water. Badet was surfing nearby when he spotted the couple in a cove, where 10-foot waves crashed into the rocky cliffs and water circulated like a whirlpool. In the cove the 59-degree water was 9 feet deep. Badet paddled to them, and, instructing the man to hold onto the nose of the surfboard, moved the man to an area of the cove where he could exit the water. Badet paddled back to the woman and did the same, but she panicked and would not let go of the surfboard to exit the water. Waves crashed around them, and, after two more failed attempts to get the woman to safety, Badet feared that the waves would slam them both against the cliffs, so he paddled into the center of the cove and waited for help. Lifeguards arrived, entered the water, swam to the woman, and took her to safety.
Badet paddled about 50 feet where he could exit the water safely. Peters commended Badet for his bravery.
“This award is given to people who risk death or serious injury saving lives,” Peters tweeted later that day.