A Columbia resident received one of the 2025 Governor’s Ambassador Awards.
Warden Keith Young with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife received the award for courage.
According to the press release, “While traveling on Interstate 65 from Bowling Green to Cave City, Warden Keith Young encountered a motor vehicle that had recently been involved in a serious collision and was fully engulfed in flames. Upon approaching the scene, he observed three individuals lying on the ground in immediate proximity to the burning vehicle, which had caught fire and began to produce small explosions, sending dangerous shrapnel into the surrounding area.
Warden Young moved two of the injured individuals to safety. Upon reaching the third victim, he was able to relocate her to a safer area before using his patrol vehicle to transport her farther away from the flames. Recognizing the ongoing threat posed by the fire and explosions, he strategically positioned his patrol vehicle between the victims and the burning wreckage, providing critical protection to all three individuals until additional emergency personnel arrived.
Warden Young's quick response to persons in need saved three individuals who, without his intervention, would have most certainly sustained serious injury or loss of life.”
Keith moved to Columbia in 2007 and is a graduate of Lindsey Wilson College.
