Robert Gordon Pourier helped to save Rene L. Lavalier, Jr., from drowning, Winnipeg, Manitoba, June 2, 1987. Rene, 4, who could not swim, was in a station wagon that had rolled backward into the Red River and sunk. From a point on the bank nearby, Pourier, 56, bus driver, ran to the scene as another man dived into the river and pulled Rene from the car. The man called for help as he and Rene were carried downstream by the current. Pourier dived into the river and swam about 30 feet to the man, who pushed Rene to Pourier before submerging. Pourier, holding Rene by the collar, swam toward the bank. As they approached, a rope was thrown to Pourier, and he and Rene were pulled to safety. The other man drowned.
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