The Wyoming man who earned the nation’s highest civilian award for heroism — rescuing a mother and son from their burning home Feb. 1, 2022 — is now battling back from a devastating crash with a semitrailer on Interstate 80 that nearly killed him earlier this month.
Ryan Pasborg, 35, of Green River, who received the Carnegie Medal for heroism from Gov. Mark Gordon in April 2024, was recently released from the University of Utah Hospital after being airlifted there Aug. 4.
He was nearly killed when his Nissan Titan crashed into a semitrailer stopped in the middle of the interstate.
“There was a semi stopped in the middle of the Interstate, no hazards, no cones, no warnings,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Monday. “It was about midnight, and I came around a dark corner, had the cruise set on 80 mph and came in contact with his flatbed trailer bumper.”
Pasborg said he spent six days in an intensive care unit at the Utah hospital, and then was transferred to a recovery ward.
He was discharged from the hospital Friday.
The crash left him with a broken sternum, bleeding on the brain, a punctured lung, broken ribs, and a broken femur. He also underwent surgery on his spleen due to blood loss. His left hand was broken in multiple places, Pasborg said.
“I have to go do a surgery for that in about two weeks,” he said.
Pasborg was offered a job with an Atlanta-based software company after being awarded the Carnegie Medal. Prior to that he had worked in the oil fields and was laid off on medical leave for a benign tumor.
He said he spent about seven months working for the firm and then decided to launch his own company.
His landscaping and construction company, Under Buckle Services, has allowed him more family time and opportunities to be involved in their lives, he said.
In February, Pasborg said he “got surprised with a divorce” and has no health insurance. He’s thankful, however, that his former spouse has helped him and visited during his hospital stay.
Ryan Pasborg, the Green River man who was given the Carnegie Medal for Heroism for saving a mother and young boy from a burning house, is lucky to be alive after a crash with a semi. The self-employed landscaper is confident Wyoming will rally to help. (GoFundMe) 
Ryan Pasborg, the Green River man who was given the Carnegie Medal for Heroism for saving a mother and young boy from a burning house, is lucky to be alive after a crash with a semi. The self-employed landscaper is confident Wyoming will rally to help. (GoFundMe) 
Ryan Pasborg ran into this burning house to save a Green River woman and her son. (Courtesy Photo) 
Ryan Pasborg was honored by the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office after saving a woman and her child from a burning trailer. He's now also been recognized with the Carnegie Medal, North America's highest civilian honor for heroism. (Courtesy Photo)
‘Not My Year’
“2025 is not my year,” he said.
His three days out of the hospital have been a struggle. He said he can’t bend his knee and body parts remain swollen. He is trying to walk again, but needs a walker to get around.
Getting his shoes on Monday morning brought tears to his eyes as a milestone in his recovery.
“In my mentality and my brain-set, I won’t let this hold me back,” he said. “I hope I get mobility back in my leg and be able to play football with the kids and be able to get on the ground and do my landscaping.
“I’ll be back to normal, I’m hoping.”
Pasborg started a GoFundMe page to let people know about his situation.
He just received a summary of the services he received at the hospital that total $81,000. He also had to get helicoptered out of Rock Springs to Salt Lake City, and the bill from that is expected to be huge.
Pasborg said an EMT in Rock Springs reached out to to him to tell him that he is very lucky to be alive.
“I tried to go through the windshield,” he said.
Without a car and with medical bills coming due, in addition to the normal bills of life, Pasborg said he hates to ask, but would appreciate any financial assistance, prayers for healing or simple encouragement.
“What I’d like people to know about my situation is that life can change in the blink of an eye,” he said. “I live in a small community and as people know I am not afraid to take the shirt off my back to help somebody else and the strong community I know we have. I would appreciate the help.”
The Rescue
Pasborg said it was pure instinct and adrenaline that kicked in when he made his rescue on Feb. 1, 2022. He has no memory of any thoughts he had during the rescue.
Pasborg was already late for work that day, but when he saw the flames shoot up from the home and no fire trucks in the area, Pasborg said he knew had to stop and help the three little children — still in their pajamas — who he saw fleeing from the home.
When they told him their mom, Stephanie Wadsworth, and little brother Weston were still inside, Pasborg bolted through the kitchen door and into the burning structure.
He couldn’t see anything because of the thick smoke, so Pasborg said he had to crawl until he felt the child’s legs. He grabbed the boy and took him outside. Worried about the subzero temperatures, Pasborg put all of the children in his truck to stay warm.
He then went back into the burning home a second time and found the mother on the floor, badly burned and unconscious.
After rescuing her from the house, Pasborg performed CPR on Wadsworth and then drove her and the children to emergency responders.
When Pasborg’s son Braxton heard the news about what his father had done, he said he couldn’t believe it.
“I thought he was lying,” he said.
Weston said he couldn’t believe it either, but said at the Carnegie Medal ceremony that he’s certain he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
