Gregory Andrew Fornia helped to save Robert E. Stewart from drowning, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 7, 1990. Robert, 9, was pushed from a 20-foot-high wall into the Schuylkill River and, unable to swim, trod water as he moved away from the wall. Nearby, Fornia, 26, graduate student, was alerted to the situation. He ran to the scene and immediately junped into the river from the wall and swam to Robert. Grasping Robert with one arm, he swam back to the wall, then realized that he was unable to climb out of the river. Sending others for help, Fornia clung to a pipe that extended from the wall for about 30 minutes, or until arriving police and firemen rescued them with the use of a ladder. Robert was hospitalized two days for hypothermia, and he recovered. Fornia was also treated at the hospital for hypothermia, and he too recovered.
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