Salute to heroes: Asheboro police officer saves drowning man's life
Lt. Travis Curry will be honored at September 22 awards ceremony in Winston-Salem
Lt. Travis Curry will be honored at September 22 awards ceremony in Winston-Salem
Lt. Travis Curry will be honored at September 22 awards ceremony in Winston-Salem
The American Red Cross will recognize Lt. Travis Curry of the Asheboro Police Department at its annual Salute to Heroes event after he saved a drowning man at Ramseur Lake two summers ago.
Curry, who admits that he's usually fishing when he's not working, was just starting a family lake outing on June 7, 2020, when he spotted activity near the dock.
"I noticed an older gentleman struggling a little bit to get out of his kayak. I didn't think anything of it, kept on driving around the circle down here and when I got out of my truck to unhook my boat, I noticed there were several people running down, screaming," he said.
Curry immediately rushed to help once he noticed the man's kayak was upside down and he had not resurfaced.
"I ran down to the dock and jumped in, toward his kayak where he was at. I found him on the bottom of the lake, unconscious. I was able to pull him out and lift him up over my head. I was walking toward the dock with him out of the water but I was still under the water," Curry said.
The lake is about 6 feet deep there and visibility is low. Curry was able to get the man to shore and his youngest son, Adam, who was just 13 years old at the time, had already called 911. Curry performed CPR and says the man regained consciousness shortly before EMS arrived.
"It was a relief. You never want to see anything bad to happen to anybody, especially, you know, my kid was here, my wife was here," he said. "I thought it was pretty neat that my son actually got to see that. You know when he was really small I would come home and tell him some things that I would do at work, so I think that's something he needed to see. Me? I'm proud of my son because when I got this guy out of the water, he was already on the phone with 911 so he automatically knew what to do. So as a father that was a proud moment for me."
Curry, who lives in Farmer, North Carolina and has been with the city of Asheboro for 18 years, says he has not seen the man since he saved him from the water that day.
You can purchase tickets to this year's Salute to Heroes event, which is scheduled for Sept. 22 at the Millennium Center in Winston-Salem, by visiting the American Red Cross website.