Samantha Whiting, from Texas, USA, was on holiday with her family in California earlier this year when every parent's worst nightmare came to life.
While playing on the beach, Samantha spotted her 10-year-old daughter Hayley drifting out into deeper water. She called Hayley back to shore, only for the youngster to realise she was caught in the rip current (离岸流) and couldn't swim back in. The current was dragging her out to sea rapidly and she called for her mum to help her as Samantha desperately tried to reach her little girl. "I will never forget her face when she said, ‘Mum, help me!'" Samantha told KFSN, recalling the terror in her daughter's voice. She managed to reach her daughter but wasn't able to swim her back to shore and the pair were struggling.
Nearby, Kevin Cozzi and his girlfriend heard the screaming. He quickly jumped into action when he realized Hayley was in danger."I've been swimming since I was 3 years old competitively, so I felt like I could get to them,"Cozzi told KFSN. "I ran out there and as soon as I got to the mum, I just told her to give me her daughter because I knew she was struggling."He swam Hayley back to shore and a lifeguard rushed to help the 10-year-old, meanwhile Samantha was thanking the total stranger who had saved her little girl from drowning.
"If it were not for him coming to help me, there's no way that we both would have made it," the grateful mum said.
Months went by, and Samantha only knew Cozzi's first name and that he lived in Merced, California. However, she never stopped looking for the heroic bystander.
Earlier this week, she posted about the rescue in a Facebook group called Merced Neighborhood Watch, and within hours they reconnected.
Cozzi and his girlfriend had to put off their wedding because of COVID-19, and Samantha decided to set up a GoFundMe account to help Cozzi and his girlfriend have the wedding of their dreams. Both Samantha and Hayley have been invited to the wedding, set for next fall, and look forward to once again thanking Cozzi in person. Cozzi was thankful for their fundraiser, but told journalists,"That girl being saved was enough for me."
