Kevin Conklin

A local high school student was hospitalized after attempting the Aug. 4, 2020, water rescue of a 6-year-old boy who was playing in a flooded 5-foot ditch at a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, park and was swept into a 25-foot-long drain pipe that extended beneath a two-lane road. Kevin Conklin, 16, was nearby when the little boy submerged. Kevin immediately waded into the flood water, submerged, and tried to feel for the boy. After failing to find him, he entered deeper water, and in many attempts, submerged to try to find the boy. He, too, was swept into the pipe. Both boys tumbled into the stream at the other end of the pipe, the current carrying them downstream, where others helped them exit the water. The boy sustained bruising and recovered. Kevin was taken to the hospital by ambulance for bruises, pain to his wrist, and exposure to the cold water. He, too, recovered.