Todd LaDuke helped to save Jay A. Breunig from drowning, Alma, Wisconsin, August 17, 1991. Jay, 13, was swimming in the Mississippi River when a strong current carried him downstream. Alerted to his plight, LaDuke, 29,insurance agent, who was at a ball field nearby, ran to the edge of the river and immediately entered it for Jay. He waded and swam to Jay, who was then just below the surface of the water at a point about 200 feet from the bank. When LaDuke grasped Jay and pulled his head out of the water, a brief struggle between them ensued. LaDuke then positioned a hold on Jay and began to swim back to the bank, but he tired in the current. Another man who had entered the river for Jay arrived; he grasped Jay and took him to wadable water, where others helped to remove Jay from the river. LaDuke, meanwhile, floating on his back to catch his breath, maneuvered toward the bank. He left the river exhausted, but he recovered after resting.
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