CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Ill. (WAND) - A man whose heroic actions saved a life has been awarded the Christian County Sheriff's Office Award of Outstanding Service. 

Authorities said Shawn Berroyer noticed something unusual after 7 a.m. on April 2 when he was driving from his Kincaid home to the Walmart in Taylorville. There was something red in a bushy, wooded area just off Illinois Route 104. 

Berroyer stopped his vehicle and walked about 100 yards to the site, where he found a red pickup truck hit a tree. He called 911 and notified authorities. 

He discovered a male occupant, identified as 48-year-old Joseph K. Ruyle, was in the truck. He rendered aid until first responders arrived. 

"I didn't see anybody at the time," Berroyer recalled. "As I came around the back side of the truck, I (saw) his leg sticking out of the passenger side of the truck and I just started hollering.

"It was very refreshing to hear him talk back, because I really didn't think he made it. It was a bad wreck."

Christian County Sheriff Bruce Kettelkamp praised Berroyer for not only seeing and reporting something suspicious, but also stopping, going into a very thick, bushy area, and discovering the crash. 

"Mr. Ruyle’s injuries prevented him from getting out of the vehicle and he would not have been able to walk back up to the roadway for help," a press release from authorities said. "It is unknown how long Mr. Ruyle had been inside his vehicle, waiting for help and severely injured, or how long it would have been before he was discovered if Mr. Berroyer had not found him." 

Kettelkamp said in a statement this scenario "demonstrates what kind of community we have when citizens step up and take action to help one another. I could not be more proud of being the sheriff and a resident of this great county and community of generous and caring citizens." 

Authorities are reminding citizens to immediately report anything suspicious or out of place to law enforcement. 

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