Deputy David King
Livingston County Sheriff Office
On January 16, 2019, just after midnight on a stretch of highway in Livingston County, Deputy David King arrived on the scene of an overturned car on fire beside the roadway. Deputy King was able to quickly ascertain that two people were trapped inside the vehicle. Crawling inside the burning vehicle through the broken rear window, Deputy King, a trained EMT, was able to quickly determine that the 18-year-old female driver was deceased. He then turned his attention to trying to free the 16-year-old unconscious male passenger from the vehicle. As the fire spread the vehicle’s interior plastic parts began to melt around the Deputy, burning his neck and arms. Deputy King continued his efforts to extricate the teenage boy until a motorist who stopped to help began pulling at the Deputy’s duty belt urging him to back out of the vehicle before it was too late.
By this point the fire had begun to spread back toward the fuel tank. Reluctantly, Deputy King was forced to retreat out of the vehicle and was treated for burns and smoke inhalation. Tragically the passenger was unable to be extricated from the vehicle and died from his injuries.
For his valiant efforts to save the life of another at great risk to his own life, Deputy David King is awarded the Kentucky Sheriff’s Association Medal of Valor.
