Sam Davilmar was stunned when he arrived at work on Tuesday only to be given an award by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, who wanted to thank the 22 year-old for rescuing a deputy from an overturned car last week.

It all started last Friday, when Davilmar was at a Wendy’s on Gulf Breeze Parkway buying his niece a frosty. As he bought her the tasty treat, he heard a crash across the street. Deputy Stephen Clark was driving when a vehicle that was trying to make a U-turn struck his Dodge Charger patrol vehicle, causing it to overturn multiple times before landing upside down in a ditch.

Many people tried to get Clark out of the car, but they could not do so. Davilmar rushed to the scene, and he was able to gather enough strength to pry open the car door and get Clark out!

“I don’t remember how hard it was to open,” Davilmar said. “I just had a lot of adrenaline.”

As Clark was rushed to the emergency room with minor injuries, his daughter Kyle Clark said that he kept talking about the man who rescued him.

“A lot of people came to help my dad, but Sam was the one that stood out to him the most,” she said.

Kyle was able to track Davilmar down on Facebook, where she learned that he worked in the deli at Winn-Dixie in Gulf Breeze. She went there to thank him personally the next day.

On Tuesday, the Clark family and officers with the sheriff’s office surprised Davilmar at work with the civilian merit award for his bravery.

“We help people all the time,” Sheriff Bob Johnson said. “It’s very rare that we need help, but it’s great that we have people like you who come along and help. … We just thank God you were there. So we’re presenting you with this little award here, but it seems like a small token compared to what you did.”

Even Davilmar’s niece Christine got a thank you for begging her uncle to buy her a frosty. Were it not for her, Davilmar would not have been in the area at the time.

“It was a series of fortunate events,” Clark’s wife Karen said. “Well, unfortunate, but turned out to be fortunate.”

Despite everything he has done, Davilmar does not see himself as a hero.

“I’d do it again and again for you,” Davilmar told Clark. “I’m not a hero. I’m just the person God wanted to be there. Every time I see someone in need of help, I try to help as much as I can.”

We need more people in the world like this young man! Watch Davilmar get his much-deserved award in the video below!