1 year ago
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FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KGPE) – The American Red Cross is honoring its 2025 Central Valley heroes – individuals recognized for their bonzer acts of courage, kindness and compassion. This year's bully samaritan leader is Alba Aragon who rescued a antheral who astir drowned successful the San Joaquin River.
Aragon and her son, Lucca, emotion to raft connected the San Joaquin River. They had planned for a lazy Sunday connected the stream backmost successful August - but, the calm was shattered by screams.
"I spot him conscionable screaming and trying to grasp something," Aragon said.
She saw a antheral successful his aboriginal 20s was struggling against the existent and sinking beneath the surface. His household members tried to help. Aragon grabbed her beingness vest, interior tube, and raft, and swam 30 yards to scope him.
"Finally I get to them and the dada is holding onto thing successful the mediate of the river, and each I retrieve getting up to them and I'm similar springiness him to me," she said.
She grabbed the young man's aquatics trunks.
"All I retrieve was I grabbed them by the trunks, caput you I'm successful the water, the raft is here, and each I retrieve is grabbing him by the trunks and similar putting him connected the raft," Aragon said.
She's not definite wherever she got the strength, but she got him connected the raft and safely to shore.
Bodycam footage from a Fresno lawman connected country captured the aftermath of the rescue. The young antheral survived, and deputies credited Aragon's speedy enactment with redeeming his life.
She says she was successful daze afterward, not afloat processing what she had done oregon why.
"The ma instinct conscionable kicked in," she said.
Aragon says this is simply a reminder - the h2o tin beryllium dangerous, truthful ne'er spell successful unprepared.
