A flat bicycle tire during a trip to the mountains put a Denver man in the position to save another man from a rushing creek, which would later earn him one of the highest honors for heroism in North America.

On July 17, John Chase, a 53-year-old lawyer from Denver, and his wife, Christy Chase, traveled to Vail planning to ride Vail Pass, but his flat tire sent them in the opposite direction to get it fixed.

That “fortuitous” course change would end with Chase swimming to the rescue of Joseph Radtke, an 80-year-old fisherman who fell into the rapids of Gore Creek near its confluence with the Eagle River after his dog fell and pulled him down.

“I would like to think what I did was not really extraordinary,” Chase said Wednesday in an interview. “At the time, it just seemed like something that needed done.”

Plenty of other people, in fact, did think Chase’s actions that day were extraordinary, so much so the first responders nominated him for a Carnegie Medal.

“John is proof there are still good people in the world, and they’re willing to do the right thing,” said Craig Davis, Vail Fire and Emergency Services battalion chief and one of the first responders to the incident. “I am convinced his actions saved (Radtke’s) life. Going into that water, John absolutely assumed risk himself. I wouldn’t say everyone would be willing to do that. He’s the definition of a hero.”

Christy was the one who noticed Radtke in trouble first, and she and John pedaled down to where he was floating in the water.

“I was yelling at him, ‘Get out of the water,’ because the rapids were coming up,” John said. “He couldn’t respond, and then the current spun him around and he went into the rapid headfirst. I knew he wasn’t getting out by himself. There wasn’t a whole lot of time to think about it, so I took off on my bike. My wife looked up and I was gone.”

Chase biked down the path, hoping to get around a tall fence along the bank of the creek. After biking about 600 feet down the trail he found a gap in the fence and crawled through, then scrambled his way down the 70-foot bank to the water’s edge.

He waded into the water to a rock in the middle of the creek downstream from Radtke and waited for him to get close.

“The next time I saw him, he was coming toward me, facedown, headfirst, unconscious, and he wasn’t coming toward my rock,” Chase said. “So I decided we were going swimming together.”

Chase jumped in after Radtke, and the two rode the current for about 15 minutes before Chase was able to swim to the edge of the creek with Radtke in tow.

“I couldn’t get him out of the water; I was pretty spent at that stage,” Chase said. “There was a guy up on a bike (on the path), and I yelled I needed his help, and we got him up the bank.”

First responders arrived shortly after, thanks to a 911 caller who gave emergency personnel the exact location of the incident.

Davis said the 911 caller was instrumental in helping save Radtke’s life, noting a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death.

“I’m glad there are still people willing to do the right thing, but doing the right thing is different for everyone,” Davis said. “Calling 911, that’s the right thing to do. Getting that exact location, knowing where you’re at.”

The rushing water swept Radtke’s dog farther down the creek, and search teams found the dog dead a week later.

For Chase, one of the most memorable parts of the incident was seeing the first responders resuscitate Radtke and knowing he’s OK now.

“All I can say is when he started kicking and breathing on his own, that was a pretty miraculous experience,” Chase said. “I actually reached out to him (Tuesday), and he texted me back he’s doing great, fully recovered and even went fishing (Wednesday).”

Chase and Davis praised the first responders who resuscitated Radtke. They were recognized locally with Call of the Year in Eagle County for their efforts.

“Everything just fell into place for (Radtke),” Davis said. “John absolutely made the difference in him being able to survive that.”

The Carnegie Medal is awarded by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission and was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1904 to recognize those who risk death or serious injury while saving or attempting to save the lives of others in the U.S. and Canada.

Chase said being included among the latest recipients is humbling, as some of the recipients died while saving people. A man in Georgia died trying to save his son from a house fire, and a Florida man sacrificed his life to save two children who had drifted out into the Gulf of Mexico.

What Chase knows now, though, is how important it is to do what you can for other people.

“We all have a role to play,” he said. “Don’t miss your opportunity to be a helping hand. I’m sure the opportunities present themselves to people daily, so take advantage.”

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