Bruce Douglas Badgett died after helping to save Yolanda T. Viganas from drowning, Erwin, North Carolina, April 17, 1996. Yolanda, 11, and a friend were in a canoe that capsized on Maynard Lake and spilled them into the deep, cold water. They screamed for help. The fiance of the friend’s mother, Badgett, 36, plant manager, responded to the scene from his nearby home. He immediately entered the water and, the friend swimming to the bank on her own, swam to Yolanda and pushed on her. Yolanda dog-paddled toward the bank where she was aided from the water, but Badgett submerged. He was recovered after several minutes by the fire department and was taken to the hospital, where he died of drowning the next day.
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