MINNEAPOLIS — A Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy had only seconds to spare when he pulled a man from a fiery crash.
But despite that remarkable act, Deputy Chris Majeski believes his colleagues across the state “would’ve done the same exact thing.”
On Sunday night, Majeski received the lifesaving award from the Minnesota Sheriff's Association. This fall, his own department also honored Majeski with a Medal of Valor.
“It’s pretty humbling,” Majeski told KARE 11’s Karla Hult on Monday about the award and the caliber of its fellow recipients.
‘Like the scene of a movie’
The recognition follows Majeski’s actions on June 17, 2023. At about 3:30 a.m., Majeski’s partner received a call of a wrong-way driver on Interstate 94 near the Hudson bridge. The driver was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes.
Majeski quickly navigated the shortest route to the scene, despite heavy construction in the area. Minutes later, he drove up to a crash near Manning Avenue in Afton.
“It was almost like the scene of a movie because of the fire, the exploding parts of the pick-up truck,” Majeski said about what he encountered.
Majeski quickly determined the wrong-way driver — who’d hit the construction barrier and rode on top of it for up to 100 yards — had died upon crashing head-on into a semi-truck. But he also quickly observed the semi driver was still alive, but unconscious.
“And all the fuel was leaking towards where the fire was,” Majeski said about the presence of diesel fuel.
The deputy then yelled to try to alert the driver.
“The driver was able to wake up enough to undo his seatbelt, and then he kind of lost consciousness again,” Majeski said.
That’s when the deputy jumped into action again, literally. He hopped over the barrier, grabbed the unconscious man and then dragged him back over the barrier. He then paused to look back.
“The cab of the semi was now on fire as well,” he remembered, before turning around to dodge speeding traffic and exploding debris.
“At this time, now the pickup truck has exploding parts,” he said, adding, “Luckily, I got him back to my squad, far enough back, where he was out of danger.”
Months later, the deputy with 20 years of experience still deflects any recognition, noting his thoughts remain with the family of the driver who didn’t survive. But the veteran law enforcement officer and father of three is also grateful he managed to save the other driver, a man with children of his own.
“I was put there by God for a reason. And having that knowledge of the best way to go. And having the skill set and the training to pull that guy out was all an act of God,” Majeski said.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: