An Army veteran in Virginia jumped 50 feet off a bridge into winter-cold water to save a suicidal teen.
Instincts clued in Juan Serrano on the motives of a young guy on the side of the Appomattox Bridge of I-95 who was pacing and seemed to need help. Serrano had been returning home from a visit to church he hadn’t been particularly interested in—waking up tired that morning.
Pulling over, he asked the young fellow if he needed a ride, but as soon as Serrano began to approach him, he jumped into the fast-flowing, freezing water below.
“I thought alright we got to get him out of the water because it could’ve been my kid,” Serrano told WTVR. “Next thing I knew I was just jumping into the water, trying to get him out.”
It was pitch-black that night, and against all odds, Serrano managed to reach the boy, either before or after the river carried them a mile downstream, eventually landing them at the gates of a water treatment facility where Serrano used his belt and the boy’s backpack in some combination to get him out of the water.
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“Hero is a big word, I was just a guy with my wife, passing by and God put us there for a reason,” Serrano said, dismissing the moniker.
He told the CBS affiliate that he’s telling the story now—not to draw attention to his daring actions—but to raise awareness of mental health needs in communities near and far.
WATCH the story below from WTVR…
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Any rescue in moving water is risky for the rescuer. Add darkness and the bridge jump…Mr. Serrano’s decision was extremely compassionate.