A 16-year-old Atlanta boy is being remembered for his “selfless” sacrifice after he drowned while on a family vacation in Florida last week as he raced to rescue a group of kids trapped in an undercurrent, the teen’s family said.
Bryce Brooks was on a family trip in Pensacola when he spotted four children being pulled out to sea in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, his father, Shivy, told FOX5 Atlanta.
The teen and two others immediately sprung into action to help the stranded kids.
“At that time of being selfless, our son Bryce… while being pulled by currents himself… literally called for help, but not for himself,” Shivy said. “He was calling for help for the little kids he was looking out for.”
But Bryce was pulled underwater as he tried to help the complete strangers.
Charles Johnson II, an older family friend whom Bryce affectionately called Uncle Chuck, jumped in to help the struggling teen but he was also pulled under and drowned, the station reported. Johnson is the father of two students who attended school with Bryce.
BODIES OF MISSING LOTUS DRUMMER, SON RECOVERED FROM ARKANSAS LAKE AFTER DISAPPEARING WHILE KAYAKING
Strangers pulled both Bryce and Johnson from the water and attempted life-saving measures, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Both were airlifted to a hospital where they were pronounced dead. Bryce’s family said he died of cardiac arrest.
All four children who were initially caught in the undercurrent survived, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Bryce was an honor roll student at Maynard H. Jackson High School. His parents said they are proud of his sacrifice but that it won’t take away the pain of losing him.
“We’re never gonna get to see Bryce grow up to be the full man that he was going to be,” his mother, Crystal told the station. “But, we know that he stepped into his manhood to save these children, and that makes me proud. It doesn’t take away an ounce of pain, but it makes me proud of our son.”
