Tu Anh Tran

Tu Anh Tran rescued a woman from drowning, Lincoln, Nebraska, February 22, 2023. The woman, 27, remained in her sedan after it left the roadway and entered a frigid pond on a golf course. The air temperature was in the low 20s, with a single-digit wind chill. Tran, 36, police sergeant, was in his cruiser when he was alerted to the incident and responded. Tran parked, ran down the bank, removed his exterior ballistic vest and duty belt, and entered the water in his uniform and boots. He reached the vehicle, which by then was submerged except for its trunk. Tran pulled on the handle of the rear, driver’s-side door, opening it. Items from the vehicle came out, making it hard for Tran to see inside. He submerged his face in the water, but due to murky water, visibility was limited beneath the pond’s surface. Tran reached inside the sedan and felt the woman’s legs. The woman submerged, resurfaced, and grasped Tran by his arms. He then grasped her arm and shoulder and pulled her free of the vehicle, which fully submerged seconds later. Holding onto the woman by her shirt, Tran towed her as he swam toward the closer bank. When they reached wadable water, others assisted the woman out of the pond to safety. Tran, too was aided out of the water. The woman was cold and was taken by ambulance to a hospital to be monitored. She was later released and recovered the following day. Tran was cold and nearly exhausted, but he did not seek treatment. He recovered.