4 who died among 19 honored by Carnegie Hero Fund Commission

PITTSBURGH — A Colorado physician who was fatally shot while trying to help his neighbor after she was wounded in a domestic shooting is one of 19 people being honored with Carnegie medals for heroism.

The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, based in Pittsburgh, announced the winners Monday.

Dr. Kenneth R. Atkinson, 65, ran out of his Centennial home when he heard a neighbor shooting at his wife and another woman, whose home his wife had run to for cover on April 4, 2016. As Atkinson kneeled to attend to his wounded neighbor and called 911, he was shot by the suspect in the leg, and then fatally shot as he tried to take cover behind a vehicle. The shooting suspect, Kevin Lee Lyons, pleaded not guilty in March to 14 charges, including first-degree murder, and is awaiting trial on related charges that he wounded his wife and the other woman and fired shots at an Arapahoe County sheriff's deputy.

The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission was endowed and founded by the late steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who was inspired by stories of heroism during a coal mine disaster that killed 181 people, including a miner and an engineer, who died trying to rescue others.

The commission investigates stories of heroism and awards medals and cash several times a year. It has given away $39.1 million to 9,953 awardees or their families since 1904.

Three others honored Monday died in rescue attempts, including Sean C. Randles, 49, of Las Vegas. He died on May 28, 2016, when he tried to save a hiker from falling over a 50-foot (15-meter) cliff when she slipped in a stream at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Randles was near the edge of the stream and grabbed the woman's hand in an attempt to save her, before both fell to their deaths.

Other winners announced Monday, with rescues taking place in the hometown of each winner unless otherwise noted: