Bryce Brooks Atlanta teen hailed a hero after losing his life rescuing 4 children he didn’t know trapped in a Florida undercurrent. Family friend, Charles Johnson II also killed assisting save.
The ultimate sacrifice. An Atlanta teen and older family friend have both been hailed heroes after the pair drowned after selflessly jumping into dangerous Florida beach waters in a bid to rescue four younger children stuck in an undercurrent.
Bryce Brooks, 16, was with relatives in Pensacola for spring break last week when his life was cut short after diving into the ocean to help four kids stranded in the ocean.
During the heroic rescue, Brooks went under and family friend Charles Johnson II went to help the high schooler, only for Johnson to also die, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
‘The selflessness that it takes for someone to make such a sacrifice, to do so at only the age of 16, we’re so proud as parents how our son has shown up in this moment,’ Brooks’ stepfather Shivy Brooks told press. ‘Let it be amplified that Atlanta developed kids that would give up their life for others that they didn’t even know.’
‘Bryce is a hero,’ he added. ‘He literally saved the lives of four kids at the expense of his own and the world should know.’
No lifeguards stationed
Other adults on the beach were able to retrieve both teen and adult and administered life-saving measures along the beach, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The two were airlifted to a hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Bryce died from cardiac arrest. The heroic 16 year old leaves behind his parents and a younger brother.
Johnson leaves behind three sons and a wife.
The incident happened in a part of the Perdido Key where no lifeguards were stationed, WEAR reported.
“He was selfless, our son Bryce, while being pulled by currents himself called for help,” Alfred Brooks, his father, said. “Not for himself, but he called for help for the kids he was saving.” >> https://t.co/ieMv13C7q0 pic.twitter.com/VmAxNxY4qS
— Atlanta News First (@ATLNewsFirst) April 11, 2023
‘What I want the world to know about our son and Uncle Chuck is that one thing is for sure is they loved each other,’ mother Crystal Brooks said.
‘We’re never gonna get to see Bryce grow up to be the full man that he was going to be,’ Crystal said. ‘But, we know that he stepped into his manhood to save these children, and that makes me proud. It doesn’t take away an ounce of pain, but it makes me proud of our son.’
Friends of Bryce’s family have set up a GoFundMe page to help them financially while they cope with his death. Come Tuesday morning, $77,132 had been raised.
