UPS Driver Swims To Rescue Of Man Who Jumped In River In Rockford
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 40-year-old UPS driver in Rockford is credited with saving the life of a man who tried to take his own life Tuesday by jumping off a bridge into the Rock River.
The first thought that UPS driver Jeff Hermansen had was that he would jump off the bridge to try to save the man who had just jumped.
"Then I thought, I don't know how deep it is. If I break my leg then they're going to be fishing two guys out," Hermansen said.
So he ran around, took his shoes off and jumped in the Rock River from the west bank.
"When I got to him, he was kind of flopping around and going under, so I grabbed him by the hair and the shoulder and I flipped him over. And I drug him out," he said.
Hermansen said the story should be more about what the man was going through than anything Hermansen did.
"I get to go back to work and finish my day, and get paid, and come to my kid's baseball; and this guy, I don't know his story, but whatever it is, to get to the point where he's at, I can't even imagine that," he said.
Hermansen said it was adrenalin that took over, not his swimming skills.
"My kids are all better than me. I'm not a great swimmer at all," he said.
Hermansen has three children, 12, 11 and 10. He's worked for UPS for almost 22 years.