Billie J. Miller saved Frederick D. DePerkins from drowning, Omaha, Nebraska, December 7, 1991. Frederick, 10, was struggling to leave a hole in the ice of a frozen lagoon in Fontenelle Park when Miller, 22, approached the scene and observed his plight. Miller ran to the lagoon and walked about 60 feet across the ice to Frederick. He extended his jacket to Frederick and was pulling him out of the hole when the ice broke and deposited both into the water. After a brief struggle, Miller pushed Frederick onto solid ice, and Frederick crawled to the bank. By then, Miller’s feet had become stuck in the mud at the bottom of the lagoon, and he could not free himself during attempts in which he lost his balance and submerged. Firefighters arrived shortly; one of them walked a rope to Miller before he himself broke through the ice. That firefighter then freed Miller from the mud, and both were pulled from the open water and to safety. Frederick and Miller required hospital treatment for hypothermia, and they recovered.
66401 – 7680
66401-7680