Royal Oak Man Recognized For Lifesaving Efforts

ROYAL OAK, MI — A 30-year-old Royal Oak man has been recognized for saving the life of a man who'd fallen in the Big Manistee River near Marilla Township in June 2019.

Benjamin Blostein is one of 17 people named a Carnegie Hero by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, which recognizes people who risk their lives for others in life-threatening situations. A total of 10,202 Carnegie Medals have been awarded since the Pittsburgh-based Fund’s inception in 1904.

According to a news release, Blostein was helping a 71-year-old man who was fly-fishing in the Big Manistee River wade from knee-deep water to a nearby island when the fisherman fell into the river. The man was carried downstream, but Blostein was able to catch up to him and carry him to shore.

As others tended to the fisherman, Blostein ran barefoot to meet the first responders to help direct them to the remote scene. The fisherman later recovered after one night in the hospital.

Commission Chair Mark Laskow said each of the awardees or their survivors will also receive a financial grant.

Throughout the 116 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, more than $42 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.