Christopher John Pruitt, 70, building contractor, died attempting to save Arvin R. Traugott, 26, carpenter, from drowning, Austin, Texas, April 20, 1965. When Traugott’s motorboat overturned on the Colorado River, he and Pruitt, along with the latter’s grandsons aged ten and five, were thrown into water 17 feet deep 40 feet from the bank. Traugott grasped the boat’s bow, which projected above the water, but Pruitt told his grandsons to swim toward the bank. Following the younger boy, Pruitt encouraged him to keep swimming and occasionally pushed him. The older boy passed them when they were within ten feet of the bank and, looking back, saw that Traugott was floundering ten feet from the boat’s bow. Both boys reached the bank and climbed out. Pruitt then surfaced 30 feet from the bank. Traugott was not in sight. Pruitt, who appeared to be treading water, looked about and then sumerged. He did not reappear. The boys watched for several minutes and then ran a quarter of a mile to summon help. Firemen later recovered the bodies of Traugott and Pruitt.
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