Terrance A. Dea

Terrance A. Dea died attempting to rescue Emma R. Fila from drowning, Louisville, Tennessee, June 5, 2021. Fila, 18, was on her jet ski on a river channel when it struck a concrete railroad bridge support. She was thrown unconscious from the watercraft and landed facedown in 24-feet-deep water of Little River. Dea, 70, retired district sales manager, who had double open-heart bypass surgery seven months earlier, was driving his pontoon boat nearby and came upon the scene. Alerted by his daughter to Fila in the water, Dea dived into the river and reached Fila. Dea shouted to his daughter to maneuver the boat closer to them. She made multiple unsuccessful attempts to move the boat, but then saw Dea unresponsive in the water. Another boat carrying six people responded. Four on board were surgeons, and they jumped from their boat and swam to Dea and Fila. The surgeons moved Dea and Fila onto Dea’s boat. Both Dea and Fila were unresponsive, and the surgeons performed CPR on both of them. One of the surgeons drove Dea’s boat to a nearby dock, where the surgeons moved Dea and Fila onto the bank and again performed CPR. Paramedics responded, and Dea and Fila were pronounced dead at the scene; both had drowned.