Boyce Coleman

Boyce Coleman died after helping to save Stephen Jones from drowning, Yonkers, New York, September 7, 2014. Stephen, 5, was seen floating away from the bank of the Hudson River while attending a community event at a municipal park. Alerted to the situation, Coleman, 43, delivery driver, who was attending the same event, climbed over a fence along the bank, descended to the level of the water, and entered the river. He swam to the boy, grasped him, and attempted to return to the bank with him against a swift tidal current. Others were entering the water in rescue attempts, including a woman who swam out to them. Reaching them, the woman shouted for Coleman to give her the boy, as Coleman appeared to be struggling. As the woman returned Stephen to the bank, Coleman continued to struggle, and he shortly submerged and was not seen alive again. A dive team recovered his body at a point about 50 feet from the bank, not far from where he was last seen. He had drowned. Stephen was not injured.