ENGLEWOOD - Three best friends were keeping cool one hot day in June by jumping from a rope off Swepson Bridge and into the waters of Englewood Beach when tragedy nearly struck.
When Austin Crum, 14, followed his two buddies into the water on June 11, he fell unconscious when he hit the water and began to drown.
But the two teens and a man fishing beneath the bridge acted quickly to save Austin's life. All involved retold their story Wednesday at a ceremony honoring their heroism.
When Austin's still body rose to the surface, Tyler Nelson and Joey Adams, both also 14, swam to their friend and pulled his body to shore.
“It was really scary, he was just floating in the water,” said Adams, “and there was all this foam coming out of his mouth.”
Just then, fear set in, and one of the boys shouted the words, “He's dead.”
That phrase startled fisherman Denver Gillean, who ran to where the boys were trying to revive Austin by giving him chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Gillean — a Korean War veteran who said he has “seen my share and been there under other terrible circumstances” — quickly made his way to Austin and took charge of the situation.
Gillian told Tyler and Joey to go to the street, stop a car and have the driver call 911. Gillian then took over CPR and slapped Austin on the back. He remembers saying aloud, “give me a sign that you can hear me.”
Once he heard a grunt, Gillean yelled, “Hey, we got life,” and Austin began to breathe.
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