- May 9, 2024
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Patrick Hile carries a tourist from Virginia, after he rescues her north of the Flagler Beach Pier on Saturday night. Courtesy photo
Patrick Hile, a Matanzas High School graduate, attends Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on a 4-year Army scholarship. Courtesy photo.
Lt. Stephen Cox, of the Flagler Beach Fire Department, was headed to City Hall first thing Tuesday morning. His mission – a life saving award for a young man who saved a woman's life on Saturday night.
Tropical Storm Bonnie churned-up the waters off the Flagler Coast, catching the tourists from Virginia, who were swimming north of the pier, off-guard. Their names are not being released at this time.
At 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 28, Patrick Hile was walking on the beach with friends when he saw two women in the water, in obvious distress. The mother and daughter had been caught in a rip current, and did not know what to do. Luckily for them – Hile did.
Hile had been the captain of the varsity swim team at Matanzas High School (The Pirates), and a lifeguard at Frieda Zamba Swimming pool. He had returned to the area after his first year of college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in upstate New York. He had gone with his friends, and his bright yellow surfboard, to the beach, to ride the waves.
According to an email from his mother, Hile paddled out, and hoisted the women onto the surfboard, and paddled them back to shore. One of the women had to be carried out of the water.
“We were dispatchd for a water rescue north of the pier on Saturday night,” Cox said. “By the time we arrived on the scene, he was assisting them out of the water on the surfboard. He saved her life.”
Cox said the woman told him she was in waist-deep water when the rip current pulled her away from the shore.
“Fighting the rip current, she became fatigued,” Cox said. “He (Hile) made a difference for sure,” Cox said.
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