Moorhead men win NDHP award for saving a man & his dog

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Fifty-eight-year-old Richard Reidhammer and 38-year-old Wesley Kern are presented the Colonel’s Award for Excellence and the Lifesaving Award for saving a driver and his dog, Lulu, who crashed into Hobart Lake in Barnes County June 5.

The driver had a medical emergency and lost control of his pickup on I-94 going westbound when it crossed the median, through eastbound lanes and went into Hobart Lake. The vehicle drifted about 30 to 40 feet from the shoreline. When they got the driver out of the car, Kern swam with the driver back to shore while Reidhammer went back to save the dog.

Both Reidhammer and Kern were the only people that entered the water to save these two lives.

“The timeline, I guess, would be, going over the knoll, I’m going east on 94 just before Valley City and I saw something white goes up in the air. The individual cleared both lanes and, poof, I saw the splash in the water. I told Matt, ‘I thought that was a jet ski.’ I got up there closer, I saw a man and a dog in the truck and I was like ‘Oh, geez,'” Reidhammer said.

Kern could not attend the ceremony The NDHP adds this is a great example of how anyone can be a first responder.