James D. Van Evera saved Isidora and Prodencio Ramirez from drowning, Carlsbad, California, March 17, 2001. Isidora, 12, and her brother Prodencio, 9, were wading in the Pacific Ocean when they were caught by a strong seaward current that swept them around the tip of a jetty at the scene. Van Evera, 46, delivery driver, was fishing from a parallel jetty about 120 feet away when he saw the children in the water and heard people on the other jetty calling for help. He entered the water, swam across the channel between the two jetties, and reached Isidora, who was about 45 feet from the tip of the nearer jetty. Establishing a hold on her, he swam her to that jetty, where a man assisted her from the water. Van Evera then turned and swam out to Prodencio, who was about 60 feet from the jetty. He grasped Prodencio by the arm and, with difficulty against the current, swam back to the jetty, where the other man assisted in getting Prodencio from the water. Van Evera sustained small cuts to his legs but was otherwise uninjured, as was Isidora. Prodencio initially had trouble breathing and was given oxygen at the scene. He was later treated at a hospital and released.
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