Photo Courtesy of WZZM News
On July 29, 2014, a routine fishing trip to Canada for Charles Devowe turned into a series of events he’ll likely never forget. It all started when noticed debris strewn on the side of the road leading to an embankment and almost kept going. But two miles down the road he decided to turn around and investigate.
He parked his car off to the side of the road near where the debris trail was and began walking along the guard rail. He says he immediately heard children screaming from down the embankment.He found a car with two children passengers screaming as the vehicle was sinking into a creek.
“The little boy was screaming, ‘help me! Please help me,” said Devowe.
Devowe said he then saw a Pontiac Vibe vehicle flipped upside down in a creek at the bottom of the hill. Devowe has bad knees, and says he didn’t want to venture down the embankment alone, fearing if something were to happen to him, nobody would know, so he says he began flagging down passing cars on the highway.
Once he managed to get some help from a passerby, he says adrenaline took over, his bad knees became an afterthought, and he began working his way down the hill. When he got to the submerged vehicle, he realized time was likely not on his side. He says he saw three people rapped inside the slowly sinking vehicle.
A 31-year old woman, a 7-year old girl and a 12-year old boy were fighting to stay alive.
“I tried to get the doors open, but they were locked,” said Devowe. “I waded into the creek waste-deep and tried to do what I could.”
31-year old Kristin-Leigh Beaudry, the driver of the vehicle, drown in the accident, but the two children were both still alive and could be saved.
“I tried to help the little boy first,” said Devowe. “He was tangled in his seat belt and his mouth was filling up with water.”
Devowe says he took both hands and held the boy’s face above the water. While he was doing this, the vehicle continued to slowly sink. As Devowe was saving the little boy, he also was trying to grab the little girl’s foot with his other hand, attempting to save her.
He said he had to stand in the creek holding the two children up for about ten minutes before additional help arrived.
This week, exactly one year after the fateful rescue, Charles Devowe was honored as the first American ever recognized for heroism by the Ontario Provincial Police Department.