James Peasnall saved a man and a boy from drowning, Ogden, Utah, May 19, 2024. After a boy, about 10, fell into the cold, fast-flowing Ogden River and his father jumped in after him, the father struggled to keep them both afloat as the current swept them downstream. Peasnall, 46, off-duty sheriff’s deputy, was at a nearby playground with his children when he heard screams, sprinted along the riverbank, and jumped in on top of them, fully-clothed and wearing cowboy boots. Peasnall grabbed the father, who held the boy, and pulled them both to shore about 150 feet downstream. He pushed the father onto a tree near the water’s edge, but the father let go of the boy, who was then carried away by the current. Peasnall swam after the boy, who disappeared underwater. Peasnall submerged several times until he located him, then pulled him to shore about 150 feet downstream of the father. Hearing more screams, Peasnall climbed out of the water and ran back to where the father clung to the tree and carried him up onto the riverbank. The boy and his father were cold but uninjured. Peasnall was cold, suffered bruises from striking rocks, and vomited water for about a day, but declined medical attention.
2024-0000218-10538James Peasnall
Tooele, UT