Hannah Meneses smiles after receiving the Maine Sheriffs Association Presidential Valor Award at the Maine Sheriffs spring conference on April 9. In March 2025, Meneses and Cameron Ryan saved a man out of his sinking car in Jefferson. (Photo courtesy of Rand Maker).
Within 10 minutes, Hannah Meneses’ life changed forever.
On March 28, 2025, she made the split-second decision to jump into Davis Stream in Jefferson to rescue a driver out of his sinking car. A little over a year later, she said the event has made a profound impact on her life.
Meneses, of Whitefield, and Cameron Ryan, of Waldoboro, were awarded the Maine Sheriffs’ Association Presidential Valor Awards on April 9 in recognition of their bravery. Ryan jumped in to the water after Meneses to assist in breaking the car’s window.
“Their willingness to risk their own life to save the life of another truly is an exceptional example of unselfishness and should not go unrecognized,” said Rand Maker, chief deputy of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
Meneses said adrenaline carried her through the rescue. She was driving over the bridge when she noticed something in the water. She said at first, since there was a boat ramp, she thought a boat launch had gone wrong. Then she noticed the back end of a car.
After pulling over, she said she continuously asked the group of bystanders gathered around the scene if there was someone in the water. At that point, she said she didn’t even know if they had called emergency services yet. When someone told her the driver was still in the water, she sprung into action.
“I remember thinking as I was about to jump into the water, “This is going to take my breath away,” Meneses said.
Once in the water, Meneses said she called out to get something to break the glass, and that’s when Ryan joined her with a tire iron. She broke one of the car’s rear windows that remained above the water, which then started flooding through the hole and the car began to sink out of sight.
At this moment, Meneses said she thought she had just made a major mistake. But the driver, Richard Pauley of Wellesley, Mass., freed himself from the car and came to the surface, and Meneses guided him to shore.
Even though the driver was successfully rescued, Meneses said she still thinks about how everything could have gone wrong that day. In the year since the rescue, she said she hasn’t gone swimming.
“The last time I was swimming was such a scary experience. Even after I knew the outcome was positive, I had nightmares,” Meneses said.
During this time, Meneses’ daughter, Page Olson, was training to be dispatcher for the Lincoln County Communications Center. Meneses said she remembers calling her daughter to let her know she might hear her mom’s name over the scanner.
Meneses said her biggest advice coming out of the experience is for others to be aware of their surroundings; if they have the slight notion something might be wrong, it is always worth it to stop and check.
Fitness is a major part of Meneses’ life. Even though she had trained for a triathlon the year before, Meneses said swimming in the river that day was not easy.
She said incorporating “functional fitness” into one’s lifestyle can help them in these situations. But even if someone is not the most active, they can still help a lot by stopping and calling for help, she said.
“Everyone is so distracted or so selfish sometimes, or scared, you know,” Meneses said. “I think just taking the moment to see everything could be taken care of but until you collect that information for yourself.”
Since the rescue, Meneses said local emergency management teams, the fire departments, and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office have been overwhelmingly supportive. Meneses is the manager for King Eider’s Pub in Damariscotta and said when community members found out about it, they came in with gifts and support.
“I’ve made a really good connection with the gentleman’s wife,” Meneses said.
Hannah Meneses points to where she jumped into Davis Stream in Jefferson in March 2025 to save a man from his sinking car. Meneses and Cameron Ryan, who assisted Meneses, was awarded with the Maine Sheriffs Association Presidential Valor Award on April 9 at the Maine Sheriffs Association spring conference. (Emily Bracher photo).
