Norman W. Hales saved Chad D. Colenutt from drowning, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, July 16, 1993. Chad, 11, was thrown into the rain-swollen Moose Jaw River after the golf cart in which he had been riding was swept from a flooded crossing. He became caught in the turbulent water beside the crossing. Golfing with friends on the opposite bank, Hales, 36, firefighter, saw the accident and immediately went to the river. He removed his shoes, entered the water, and swam across the turbulence to Chad. He grasped Chad by an arm but then became caught in the turbulence himself. Hales submerged in an attempt to push off the floor of the river but could not reach it, and efforts to swim out of the turbulence to either bank also failed. Hales then swam downstream to escape the turbulence and to a bank of the river, where a friend, who had also entered the water to assist Chad, removed Chad from the river. Chad was taken to the hospital for observation. Hales was nearly exhausted, but he recovered.
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