Linda F. Schmidt saved Richard A. Rocco from drowning, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 27, 1963. While wading in the Allegheny River, Richard, 10, who could not swim, stepped into water beyond his depth, was submerged, and surfaced flailing wildly. His struggles to stay afloat carried him to 18 feet from the bank, where the water was 7 feet deep. Linda, 16, schoolgirl, was sunbathing atop a culvert at the bank and saw Richard sink. Running to the bank, she descended it and moved onto the culvert apron, which extended 12 feet into the water. From the end of the apron, Linda jumped into the water and swam six feet to where she last had seen Richard. Diving from the surface, she probed the murky water but could not locate him. In need of air, she had started to surface when Richard’s hand touched her ankle. Linda reached downward, grasped Richard by the arm, and surfaced with him gulping for air. Richard was inert. Linda towed him to the culvert, lifted him upon the apron, and then climbed onto it. Richard recovered.
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