PETERSBURG, Va. -- When Juan Serrano and his wife left a community non-profit event at their church on December 13, the couple said they never imagined ending the night as someone's saving grace.
"I told my wife I didn’t want to go because I was tired that day, but she said let’s go," Serrano said.
After leaving church and stopping to get food, the two were headed home traveling southbound on I-95 in Petersburg, when they saw a young man walking near the edge of a bridge that crossed the Appomattox River.
Worried, Serrano pulled over, got out of the car, and approached the young man to see if he needed help.
"As I was approaching the kid, I saw that he was pacing himself, so I asked him if he needed a ride if he was ok," said Serrano.
Just seconds later, he said he watched the young man jump off the bridge into the Appomattox River. "When he started getting to the edge, I started running and he just jumped into the water," said Serrano.
In shock, the eight-year army veteran said he ran to the opposite side of the highway anticipating where the kid may be based on the direction the water was moving.
"When I saw him and he came up in the center of the river and he just cried for help, I thought alright we got to get him out of the water because it could've been my kid," said Serrano. "Next thing I knew I was just jumping into the water, trying to get him out."
In freezing cold water and under pitch black skies, Juan made the 50-foot jump in, hoping to help the stranger.
"For me, it was like 5 to 7 minutes, my wife told me we were in the water for 30 minutes or so," Serrano said.
Ultimately, traveling about a mile down the river, they landed at the gates of a water treatment plant.
"My instinct because he was colder, I took all my clothes and everything I had on and put it on him," he said. "We didn't have a way to get out the water so I used his backpack and my belt to actually drag him out."
Emergency crews arrived and took the young man to a hospital.
Juan said he then went home in disbelief at what just happened.
"I don't know how to put it but it's just like being able to be with the kids and actually get him out the water and give him help in the moment, it values everything that I stand for," he said.
With a courageous heart, this humble hero said he’s sharing this story not to bring any recognition to himself, but hopes this story will bring awareness to the need for more mental health resources in all communities.
"Hero is a big word, I was just a guy with my wife, passing by and God put us there for a reason," Serrano said.
"From that night what I can take is we have to be able to heal people crying for help, before something like this happened, we need to be preventing not reacting. I want to make sure that he and others like him and me get the help that we need in each aspect."
Juan said he hasn’t been able to speak with the young man since that night but says if he was able to give him one message it would be "God loves you, he has a purpose for you and if there’s anything we can do for you don't hesitate to ask."
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