Sheriff honors Dustin L. Harter and Bridget J. Harter for roadside lake rescue

The Effingham County Sheriff presented a Distinguished Act Award to Dustin L. Harter and Bridget J. Harter for rescuing a driver from a partially submerged pickup on July 20, 2025. According to the sheriff’s account read at the board meeting, at approximately 2:01 p.m. on July 20, 2025, a pickup left the roadway at the intersection of Park Avenue and Safety Harbor Drive and descended an embankment into a small cove of Lake Sarah. The pickup’s front end was mostly submerged with the driver still inside. Dustin and Bridget Harter were traveling in the area, stopped to assist and called 911. Bridget retrieved a glass-breaking tool from their vehicle and gave it to Dustin, who broke the window, unlocked the door and helped the male driver out of the partially flooded cab and up the embankment to safety. The sheriff praised their actions at the meeting and presented certificates. "Mister and Missus Harter's initiative to help others at a moment of crisis speaks volumes to their character," the sheriff's prepared remarks said. The sheriff and the county board expressed public gratitude for the couple’s intervention. No formal county action was required; the presentation was a recognition of the Harders' (Harter spelling as presented in the award listing) life‑saving assistance.