Mark Henry Breazeal saved Jason W. Murgallis from drowning, Pacifica, California, June 13, 1997. On a Pacific Ocean beach, Jason, 6, was drawn into the rough surf and taken away from shore by a strong undertow. Fishing from a pier in the vicinity, Breazeal, 37, assistant plumber, was alerted to the situation. He immediately ran from the pier to a point on the beach opposite Jason, a distance of a quarter-mile, then, stripping to his trousers, entered the water by diving through a breaker. He swam about 250 feet to Jason, who, semiconscious, was barely above the surface of the water. Breazeal grasped Jason with one arm and swam with the other back to shore, the breakers and undertow hampering him. Jason required medical treatment for having nearly drowned, and Breazeal swallowed water and sustained strained back and neck muscles, from which he recovered.
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