Three Michigan Department of Natural Resource officers stationed in Newaygo County have been honored for saving lives.
Officer Tim Barboza, Brandon Benedict and Jeff Ginn have been awarded DNR Lifesaving Awards for their actions in two separate incidents.
The DNR said the first incident happened in May of 2022 when Barboza responded to a motorcycle accident in Lincoln Township. When Barboza arrived, the DNR said he found the rider on his back with life threatening injuries. He applied a tourniquet to the man’s bleeding leg. The man, who is a father to five children, said that the officer’s actions saved his life.
The DNR said that the second incident involved all three of the DNR officers. They said it happened in January when a man fell through the ice on Blanch Lake. Barboza, Benedict and Ginn all worked together to pull him out, a rescue that grew even more complex after the DNR said that Ginn fell into the freezing water too.
Ginn was additionally awarded with a Distinguished Service Award for his actions that day.
