Robert Wayne Veltus died saving Andrew J. Hagemeier from drowning, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, July 4, 1984. Andrew, 8, was being swept away by the swift current of the Roaring Fork River after the raft in which he was a passenger overturned. Also aboard was Veltus, 57, realtor, who, rather than swim for the bank, swam to Andrew and told him to hold onto him. Both were swept through two sets of rapids during a course of two miles before rescue workers could remove them from the river. Andrew was treated for hypothermia, and he recovered. Veltus could not be revived.
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