Matt Vasey

Matt Vasey rescued Anthony L. Jurcan from drowning, Bellevue, Washington, September 15, 2023. Jurcan, 80, a pilot, was trapped upside down inside the submerged cabin of his floatplane after it flipped over and crashed on Lake Sammamish more than a half-mile from land. Jurcan’s passenger, his stepson, managed to escape and was pulled by a boater onto his boat, but Jurcan remained strapped into the pilot’s seat underwater. Working at his lakefront house, Vasey, 54, technology executive, was alerted to the crash by his neighbor. He jumped into his ski boat and raced to the plane. The boater told Vasey the pilot remained inside. Vasey jumped off his boat into the cold, deep water and swam 60 feet to the plane. He submerged and reached inside the partially open canopy but could not move Jurcan, who was strapped in. Vasey resurfaced to get a breath, then dived back down, forced open the canopy with his hands and feet, climbed inside, unbuckled Jurcan’s lap belt, and pulled him to the surface. Vasey moved Jurcan, who was unresponsive and larger than him, to a wing and started CPR. Another boat arrived, and the passengers helped pull Jurcan aboard. The boat, with Vasey also aboard, raced for shore, where Vasey and others performed CPR until paramedics took over. Jurcan died at the scene. Vasey suffered cuts on his hands and face but did not seek medical treatment.

2023-0000118-10547