Charles V. Worden saved Adrian G. Rowe from drowning, Waynesboro, Virginia, April 16, 2011. Adrian, 9, and two others were attempting to walk across a low water crossing that was inundated to a depth of about 2.5 feet by surging floodwaters of a creek. The rushing water forced them against a rail that extended along the edge of the crossing. A passing motorist, Worden, 44, maintenance engineer, saw them and stopped at the scene. Shouting for them to return, Worden waded through the flooded area and onto the near end of the crossing. Reaching Adrian, he grasped the boy and put him under an arm as he then tried to secure the others. They were washed from his grasp and carried downstream. Worden waded from the floodwater with Adrian to safety and then ran after the others, but they submerged and drowned, their bodies recovered later.
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