ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. — While visiting St. Augustine Beach last summer, Rod Boothe jumped into a dangerous rip current and saved a local woman from drowning.
Boothe’s heroism is now being recognized at a global level as the Georgian was awarded the Carnegie Medal, North America’s highest honor for civilian heroism.
First Coast News caught up with Boothe who said he’s humbled to receive the medal.
“We'd been locked down for three months. So, we wanted to go out and something fun,” Boothe explained. “When we got out there, the water was really rough.”
What was supposed to be a relaxing beach day on Memorial Day weekend 2020, quickly turned scary.
While checking on his son who went out into the ocean on a boogie board, Boothe quickly noticed he wasn’t the only one stuck in a rip current.
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He found two other children fighting to get back to shore. One of them was Kelly Wood’s son.
“He said, ‘Please help, my mother,’” Boothe said. “And he looked over his shoulder in the completely opposite direction.”
Without hesitation, Boothe listened to the boy and swam out about 70 yards to get Wood and pull her to shore.
“Her lips were starting to turn blue and she was foaming,” he described. “I was out of breath. I was struggling. So, I started to bring her in, and then miraculously this girl right there says, ‘I know CPR.’”
Two other nurses helped keep Wood alive before an ambulance took her to the hospital where she made a full recovery.
Boothe and the two nurses were presented medals at the St. Augustine Police Department last July.
However, he is only one of 18 in North America who were awarded a Carnegie Medal this year.
Boothe said he’s honored to be called a hero, but is just happy Wood is okay.
“I'm just glad that she made it because she's a wife, and she's a mother. So, a family has our wife and mother back,” he explained.