Victor Zabbo saved Shawn C. and Cheryl C. Cook from drowning, Folsom, California, January 31, 1984. Shawn, 5, and Mrs. Cook, 37, his mother, were being swept down the middle of the 85-foot-deep American River. Despite a swift current in the river, Zabbo, 23, ceramic mold setter, dived into the water, swam about 150 feet to Shawn and Mrs. Cook, and took hold of them. Turning onto his back, Zabbo kicked his way toward the opposite bank. After he had progressed about 120 feet with them in this fashion, Zabbo became tired; he then swam with Shawn about 30 feet to the bank and passed him to others. Zabbo then returned to Mrs. Cook and took her to the bank. Shawn and Mrs. Cook were taken to a hospital and treated for hypothermia, from which they recovered.
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