Anthony S. Johnson saved Oscar R. Haddorff from drowning, Red Wing, Minnesota, May 29, 2011. Unconscious, Haddorff, 56, was being swept downstream in the Mississippi River by a strong current. Witnesses on the nearer bank, including Johnson, 32, inventory and quality control assistant, saw him. Johnson immediately removed his shoes and dived into the 62-degree water from a nearby dock. He swam without difficulty about 50 feet to Haddorff and established a hold on him, but the current kept him from making progress back to the bank on his first attempt. Johnson then readjusted his hold on Haddorff, who outweighed him, and with difficulty began to swim back to the bank, towing him, as the current washed them downstream. Tiring and submerging en route, Johnson reached the bank with Haddorff at a point about 420 feet from where he entered the water. Others pulled Haddorff from the river and aided Johnson to safety. Haddorff required hospitalization, and Johnson, cold and fatigued, was treated in the emergency room. He recovered.
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