Michael Dominguez saved Silvia Castro, Rosa Martinez, and Francis Romero from drowning, Lubbock, Texas, April 3, 1997. Ms. Castro, 36, and her mother, Ms. Martinez, 52, and grandmother, Ms. Romero, 73, were occupants of an automobile that was swept from the roadway into a drainage ditch during flash flooding following heavy rains. The car was carried downstream in the concrete ditch by the swift, cold water. At the scene in another vehicle, Dominguez, 27, plumber, saw the accident and immediately entered the ditch for the women. He went to the car, which was submerging, and opened a door. He removed the women and took them to the side of the ditch, where others pulled them from the water. At one point during the rescue, the car caught Dominquez by the leg against the wall of the ditch. The car sank at a point about 150 feet beyond where it had entered the ditch. Ms. Martinez required hospital treatment, as did Dominguez, who was detained two days for muscle spasms.
71620 – 8189
71620-8189