A Marine sergeant was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal — the service’s highest non-combat award — in August for pulling an injured woman away from a burning car crash last year.
The off-duty valor happened on the night of June 19, 2023, when Sgt. Andrew Gomez was headed back to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.
“While driving, I noticed smoke billowing from the woods and a car fire beginning on I-295,” the Marine reservist and aviation supply specialist with Marine Aircraft Group 49 said in a release announcing the award. “I saw no visible first responders on scene and felt a calling to pull over and render aid.”
The vehicle had veered off the highway and crashed through thick brush before colliding with a tree, according to the Marine Corps.
Gomez assessed the chaotic scene and found a driver who appeared to have severe neck injuries, and a woman lying on the ground next to the vehicle, apparently unable to move.
“I ran towards her, picked her up, and another bystander began to help me,” Gomez said. “Her injuries were severe, but she didn’t seem in immediate risk of dying before first responders arrived.”
After moving her safely away from the burning car, Gomez returned to check on the driver. The driver was unresponsive and did not survive the crash.
First responders soon arrived and took over, extinguishing the flames and securing the scene.
Gomez credited the Marine Corps with his lifesaving skills but recognized another person for helping him react the way he did in those precarious moments.
“While I don’t see myself as a hero, I am happy to have been that for someone on what was probably the worst day of their life,” Gomez said. “My mom taught me that life isn’t about us. She is passionate about being good to others, so I think some of that rubbed off on me.”
Since the incident, the surviving woman and her family have thanked Gomez and invited him to attend family cookouts and a birthday, according to Marines.
The surviving passenger’s name was not included in the official release due to privacy concerns.
“What Andrew did for me was more than heroic,” the rescued passenger said. “I’m beyond grateful for his actions on my behalf that night in the woods off I-295. Without him, I most likely would not be here right now.”
Maj. Gen. John Kelliher III, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing commanding general, called Gomez’s actions a “remarkable act of bravery” in the release announcing the award.
“The valiant actions displayed by Sgt. Gomez unquestionably merits one of our highest honors, demonstrating that Marines and others like him can be called upon to respond in times of crisis,” Kelliher said.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
