Trooper Kris Fitzgerald honored for risking his own life to save a troubled teen from swollen creek

By Lisa Trigg

TERRE HAUTE — Kris Fitzgerald could see a logjam ahead as a teen flailed her arms in the frigid waters of Honey Creek less than two weeks ago.

He knew that if she was swept downstream under the debris, she would get trapped and probably drown.

The Indiana State Police trooper also knew he didn’t have time to get his dive gear out of his car, so he did the next best thing. He took off his gun belt, shoes and uniform shirt — the things that would weigh him down — and entered the water to reach the 17-year-old girl.

His successful rescue on May 4 was recognized Thursday morning as the Terre Haute Breakfast Optimist Club presented Fitzgerald with the 2009 Kevin Artz Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award.

“The only thing I thought was that the girl was in distress,” Fitzgerald recalled as he spoke of his reactions on that Monday afternoon.

Fitzgerald had been at the ISP Post on U.S. 41 when the call came in of a 17-year-old female who had walked away from the Gibault School, about a mile north of the post. Fitzgerald and Trooper David Edwards soon arrived at the bridge over Honey Creek, and a passing motorist told Fitzgerald the girl had jumped from the bridge into the water.

Fitzgerald quickly made the decision to enter the water, and he swam toward the teen, who was then floating facedown. After swimming about 250 feet in the nearly 60-degree water, he turned the girl faceup for breathing and towed her to shore. In the meantime, Trooper Edwards had reached the bank of the creek, and helped get the teen out of the water.

The girl was conscious, so Fitzgerald began a first aid evaluation and recognized hypothermia was setting in. The teen was taken to Terre Haute Regional Hospital, experiencing symptoms of hypothermia and complaining of leg pain.

It wasn’t until later that he realized his own discomfort from exposure to the cold water.

While Fitzgerald has served on the police dive team for two years, this incident was his first water rescue.

His wife, Amy, and 4-year-old son, Austin, along with his father, Dr. Gary Fitzgerald, were among those in attendance as the nine-year ISP veteran was honored during the award presentation at the Clabber Girl Bakery.

The trooper’s father said he did not know about the rescue until the next day, when his office staff told him Kris had made the evening news. Gary called his wife, Sherry, to tell her about it, and she hadn’t heard anything, either.

“It was just part of his job,” the elder Fitzgerald said. “He didn’t tell us about it.”

The award, named in honor of fallen Vigo County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Artz, was presented by Optimist Club president Daniel I. Pigg. Also at the presentation were Artz’s daughters, Ashley and Lindsey.

Artz was shot and killed after responding to a domestic disturbance on July 1, 1987. Artz and other officers arrived at the scene and attempted to calm a man at the back door of the home. The man suddenly began firing a weapon, and Artz was fatally wounded.

Artz had served with the sheriff’s department for 11 years, and the award was started by then-Sheriff Jim Jenkins. Current Sheriff Jon Marvel was a colleague of Artz and attended Thursday’s ceremony to honor Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald is the 21st recipient of the award. A large plaque commemorating Artz and honoring Fitzgerald will be displayed at the ISP District 54 Post south of Terre Haute.

Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.