Roland Monte Blake, Jr., saved Ronnie D. Roets from drowning, Shawnee, Oklahoma, July 3, 2010. Ronnie, 7, was caught by the swift current of runoff in a drainage ditch that extended through a residential neighborhood and ended at the entrance to a belowground culvert. He was seen attempting to grasp a concrete-slab bridge that crossed the ditch by Blake, 44, maintenance employee, who lived nearby. Blake immediately ran to the bridge and reached for Ronnie, but Ronnie was swept under the bridge as he was being carried toward the culvert. Blake ran along the bank of the ditch to a point beyond Ronnie and entered the water. Surfacing, he intercepted and caught Ronnie and then was swept farther downstream while holding him. After submerging a few times with Ronnie, Blake managed to throw him to a woman on the bank, and she took him to safety. Blake was carried to a point near the culvert from which he succeeded in climbing from the ditch. He suffered minor cuts to his legs, from which he recovered.
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