Hero of the Week 3/2

It was a November afternoon, just after 5:30 pm, D/S Jeffrey Yerian had just finished working his shift . D/S Yerian was traveling North on I 95 and after a short distance of driving he was flagged down by a stopped motorist just south of the Palm Beach canal. The motorist pointed towards an embankment roughly 50 – 100 yards away. D/S Yerian noticed smoke coming from the location and tire tracks that led over an embankment.

Quickly, D/S Yerian ran down the hill of the embankment and found an overturned vehicle that was partially submerged in a drainage canal. He could see a male struggling to remove himself from the front of the vehicle. D/S Yerian entered the murky water and pulled the male driver from the vehicle and got him safely to the side of the canal bank. D/S Yerian asked the male if anyone else was in the vehicle and the male uttered “my girl is trapped in there, help her, please!” D/S Yerian re-entered the water and saw a hand protruding from underneath the dark murky water. With the assistance of a Good Samaritan, D/S Yerian, grabbed the hand and together they pulled the female from the water and carried her onto the canal bank. D/S Yerian noticed she had a large laceration to her right leg. He obtained a t-shirt from a bystander and quickly applied pressure to the open wound. Before additional lifesaving efforts could be administered, PBC Fire Rescue personnel arrived and took over. Once the female was secured on a back board, D/S Yerian assisted PBC Fire Rescue personnel with carrying her to an awaiting ambulance.

If it had not been for the quick actions of D/S Yerian’s and a few good Samaritans it’s likely the motorist and his passenger could have drowned before fire rescue crews would have arrived.