Kenphenyeehu Hawj saved Calvin Yang from drowning, Taylors Falls, Minnesota, May 25, 2014. Calvin, 11, was on a family fishing outing along the St. Croix River when he fell into the water. Swollen from recent rains, the river had a very strong current, and Calvin was carried away from the bank and downstream. His uncle jumped into the river after him but did not reach him and was also carried away by the current. In another party on the bank at the scene, Hawj, 44, truck driver, saw Calvin and his uncle in the water. Removing his outer attire, Hawj ran along the river to reach a point downstream of Calvin. From atop a cliff, about 30 feet above the water, Hawj jumped into the river, although he did not know its depth, swam to Calvin, who was about 60 feet from the bank, and grabbed the back of his shirt. He started to swim toward the bank with Calvin, but halfway there he tired. After resting on a submerged boulder, Hawj towed Calvin the rest of the way to the bank and aided him from the water. Calvin was uninjured. Hawj was tired and sore, and he recovered. The uncle’s body was removed from the river five days later at a point about seven miles downstream. He had drowned.
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