‘I pulled him out, I heard more screaming’ – How a Cadet Saved a Father and Son from Drowning.
Zion Jerge, a senior in the Marine Transportation program at Cal Poly Maritime Academy, pulled two men from a Foster City apartment pool and performed CPR on one who was unconscious, the academy reported.
Zion Jerge, a senior in the Marine Transportation program at Cal Poly Maritime Academy, helped rescue two men from a swimming pool at an apartment complex near his home in Foster City, according to the academy. He heard screams from the complex and ran toward them.
The academy said a 25-year-old man who could not swim had entered the shallow end of the pool and drifted into deeper water, where he sank. A family member went into the pool to help and also began to struggle.
Jerge jumped over the fence and into the pool. He pulled the father out first because he was the one he saw first, floating face down. Jerge said his body "kind of just took over, like a fight-or-flight reaction." He then heard more screaming and found a second man at the bottom of the deep end, who was the father's son. Jerge brought him out of the water and found that he was unconscious.
Jerge began CPR right away. A short time later, the man expelled water and started breathing on his own. Foster City Police Department officers and San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department personnel responded. The man was conscious and able to speak with first responders before he was taken to a hospital for further treatment. The page does not describe the father's condition.
Rear Adm. Eric C. Jones (Ret.), the academy's superintendent, said, "Cadet Jerge’s swift, decisive actions perfectly embody the core values we instill at the academy." He added that Jerge stayed composed under pressure, assessed a fast-changing emergency and carried out the rescue.
The rescued family later thanked Jerge. They told public safety officials they believed the outcome would have been very different without his intervention, the academy said.
At a Glance
- Cadet Zion Jerge is a senior in the Marine Transportation program at Cal Poly Maritime Academy.
- The rescue took place at a swimming pool at an apartment complex near Jerge's home in Foster City.
- Jerge performed CPR on the unconscious son, who expelled water and began breathing on his own.
- Foster City police and San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department personnel responded, and the son was taken to a hospital.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.