Nicholas A. Hays saved Quennia S. Calixto-Negrette from drowning, Wenatchee, Washington, May 28, 2012. In a group of friends, Quennia, 13, jumped from a dock into the Columbia River and with another girl was pulled downstream by the swift current. Unable to return to safety, she shouted for help. Nicholas, 16, student, was in another party on the bank at the scene. Becoming aware of the situation, he ran several hundred feet along the river to a point opposite Quennia and then removed his shirt and entered the 52-degree water. As the other girl had submerged by then, Nicholas waded and swam to Quennia, who was about 75 feet from the bank. He grabbed her by the wrist and then pulled her to himself and wrapped his left arm around hers. Stroking with his free arm, Nicholas towed Quennia to the bank. The other girl drowned.
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