Renton woman among those honored for saving drowning victims

Published 5:07 pm Tuesday, July 16, 2013

A Renton woman was among those honored Tuesday at Gene Coulon park for her role in saving a drowning man earlier this year.

Corrina Wells was enjoying an early Mother’s Day at Gene Coulon Park with her family May 11 when she noticed two boys who were in the deeper water and were pretending to be drowning.

The boys were ok, but their antics caused one man to dive into the water in an attempt to save the young man, shoes and all. Wells watched as one of the boys pushed the man’s head under water when he got to them and then swam in to shore.

When the man surfaced, he yelled “help me!” and was obviously in trouble himself.

Wells yelled back to the beach for help, but no one moved. She then ran down the dock, told her daughter to stay where she was and hang on, and then dove into the water after the man, who was thrashing and yelling for help.

Wells got the man, who at an estimated 300 pounds dwarfed her frame, and tried to help, but in a panic, the man pushed her under water. Wells broke free and swam a bit away and continued yelling for help from the people on the shore, who she said just watched.

“Still, nobody would help me at all,” she said.

Finally, someone grabbed the life ring and tossed that in the water. Wells was able to swim to it, take it over to where the man had been, but he was no longer visible.

Wells, who said she knows how to swim, but has never had any formal training, began diving into the lake and found the man under water, pulling him up and giving him the ring.

Wells said when she pulled him out, he was non-responsive and had blood coming out of his nose. She pushed him into shore. The man is still alive today, thanks to Wells.

“And I’m not even a string swimmer,” she said.

On Tuesday, Wells was honored for her heroic acts with the King County Meritorious Service Award during a brief ceremony at Coulon Park.

“Without even thinking of her own safety, Corinna jumped in the water to save that individual,” Renton Fire Chief Mark Peterson said. “You made a difference in that man’s life; He is alive today.”

Mayor Denis Law, King County Councilman Reagan Dunn and Sheriff John Urquhart were also on hand, as were two young men also received an award for saving two lives last summer on Lake Sammamish.

The boys, Patrick Finigan, 16, of Sumner, and his cousin Ian Fursman, 15, of Snoqualmie, were enjoying a day at the lake when they heard splashing and cries of distress among a group of teens.

While others ran for shore to try and get help, Finigan and Fursman dove in to help. They pulled one girl from the water and realized a boy with her was also having trouble and went back to help him.

Finigan pulled him out and Fursman helped get him to shore, where Patrick, who is trained in CPR, began to evaluate whether it would be necessary, but the man coughed and spit out water, though he was disoriented.

“No one else was doing anything so we just took it on ourselves,” Fursman said.

Urquhart praised the boys’ actions and urged people to contact their legislative representatives about making sure there was money to hire life guards for King County Parks.

“Ian and Patrick can’t be there all the time,” he said.

According to King County Public Health Violence and Injury Prevention Program Manager Tony Gomez, who appeared at the event wearing a lifejacket,  there were 24 drownings in King County last year, including nine in July and August, when the weather turns hot, but the water still might be very cold.

All three of the rescuers were lauded as heroes by those in attendance, but wells doesn’t necessarily see herself that way.

“I didn’t want to be the one to help him But it was very clear he was going to die and nobody was going to help him,” she said. “I don’t think it’s being a hero. I think it’s being a human being.

“Being human is now considered being a hero.”