Gene Gary Roberts saved Robert L. Harper from drowning, Angleton, Texas, February 4, 1989. Partially submerged in very cold water, Harper, 35, shouted for help as he clung to a piling in the Bastrop Bayou after a highway accident in which his tractor-trailer had left a nearby bridge. Roberts, 29, chemical technician, drove upon the scene and heard Harper’s cries for help. Despite an air temperature in the 20s, Roberts waded and swam about 50 feet to Harper. Then, with Harper, who outweighed him, holding onto his back, Roberts swam to wadable water, from where he and Harper went to shore. Harper required hospital treatment for his injuries, from which he recovered.
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