Timothy James Coehoorn helped to save David T. Sammons from drowning, Medicine Hat, Alberta, July 25, 1996. Sammons, 25, was attempting to cross the South Saskatchewan River on horseback when he became separated from his horse and was washed downstream by the swift current. He struggled to stay afloat. Coehoorn, 35, greenhouse operator, was walking along the bank when he saw Sammons in the river at a point about midway across. Coehoorn called for help on his portable telephone then removed his shoes and, joined by another man, waded and swam to Sammons. They secured a hold on him and began to return him to the bank, against the current, which carried them downstream. When the other man broke away to rest, Coehoorn swam alone with Sammons; rejoined by the other man, he then rested apart momentarily. Coehoorn and the other man returned Sammons to the bank at a point several hundred feet downstream from where they had entered the river. Exhausted, Sammons required medical attention; he recovered. Coehoorn was very tired but recovered by the next day.
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