Two college golfers at Purdue Fort Wayne rescue man from drowning: 'By the grace of God'
Cameron Jourdan- Two Purdue Fort Wayne men's golfers rescued a man after his car crashed into a pond in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- AJ Agnew and Landon Smith jumped into the cold water to pull the driver from his sinking vehicle.
- The driver, who may have had a medical episode, was successfully rescued just as the car's headrests went underwater.
AJ Agnew was out of the car before Landon Smith could even put it in park.
Agnew, a junior on the Purdue Fort Wayne men's golf team, was going to Kroger supermarket with Smith, a sophomore, to grab some groceries in between classes on Wednesday. Smith texted Agnew about 11:30 a.m., saying he wanted to make a quick trip to the store, and they hopped in a car. But they never made it to the grocery store.
When they approached Sawmill Woods Boulevard and St. Joe Center Road in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a car in front of them veered into oncoming traffic before hopping a curb and barreling into a pond. The two looked at each other as the scene unfolded, trying to process what was happening.
"At first we thought he was trying to turn into a subdivision," Smith said, "then it just kept going."
By the time Smith put the car in park and got out, Agnew was sprinting toward the pond. They were separated by about 20 yards. Agnew plunged into the cold water with Smith not far behind. The car was sinking, and they knew they had to act quickly.
Smith said the driver, an older man, seemed out of it, as if he had passed out. They worked trying to open the door, but it was locked. With water up to their necks and the car continuing to sink, and they were about to break a window to pull him out before the trapped occupant was able to unlock the door, and they quickly swung it open and pulled him out.
"We just picked him up, picked him up in the air above the water and then walked him out of the water and then up onto the bank," Smith said.
A lady, whom Smith didn't know and didn't recall where she came from, was waiting with a blanket for the man and golfers. About that time, 11:51 a.m., is when police arrived on scene, according to WPTA.
"The headrests were underwater by the time we pulled him out," Smith said. "It was just, I don't know. It was by the grace of God that we were able to be there at that point.
"When you see somebody that needs help, you help them. That's just what you do."
Purdue Fort Wayne coach Billy King said he heard Thursday morning the man in the vehicle is doing well and is expected to make a full recovery. The Fort Wayne Fire Department said it is possible the man was having a medical episode, causing the crash, per WPTA.
Agnew and Smith eventually made it to the grocery store, but only after their classes in the afternoon. After the scene cleared, they went back to campus to go to class. But as the story started to circulate around campus, their phones started buzzing more and more.
"It felt so weird," Smith said. "I don't think either of us have been that cold in our lives. It wasn't cold being in the water, but when everything had settled down, it was so cold."
The two are rightfully being hailed as heroes locally for saving the man's live. As for their coach, he doesn't have the words to describe how proud he is of their swift actions in saving someone's life.
"They just do the right things, and they're good, faithful young men that see life as a bigger picture than just college golf," King said. "Sometimes in the world of college athletics, everybody's focused on the result or the performance and, yes, we all know that's important. But when two of your student athletes do what they did yesterday, that really puts golf scores in perspective. And I couldn't be more proud that they're Mastodons and they're just awesome kids on and off the course. First-class gentlemen, you know.
"I'm not sure there's an adjective strong enough to describe what these two boys did yesterday."