Kyle Bowman attempted to help rescue Daniel E. Samis from drowning, Bel Air, Maryland, August 31, 2018. During heavy rain in a rural area, Samis, 67, was stranded in his car on a flooded section of road where it crossed a stream. A motorist, Bowman, 31, tree trimmer, and his passenger, his girlfriend, saw Samis’s car and stopped at the scene. Bowman backed his truck to the water’s edge about 100 feet from Samis’s car and got out. Intending to help Samis, Bowman waded toward his car with a rope that he had tied to the truck’s rear, and the girlfriend, holding onto the rope, also waded toward Samis’s car. Shortly, the girlfriend lost her footing and fell into the water. Bowman moved to her at the road’s guide rail and helped her to her feet. They soon became separated, and the girlfriend was carried downstream by the current and away from the scene; she did not survive. Samis’s car, with him inside, also was carried away downstream by the current. His body later was recovered from his car; he had drowned. Bowman safely exited the water.
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