‘Heroic’ 22-year-old saved friend before drowning in AL flood waters, family says
A 22-year-old man died after saving his friend during a flash flooding incident in Alabama, the man’s family said.
Cohen Sinclair Turner helped push his friend toward a tree after a car the two were in was swept off the road and into a creek by a flash flood, according to an Aug. 3 Facebook post by Turner’s uncle, Danny Turner.
“A heroic act by everyone’s definition,” Danny Turner said in the post. “Our family is completely devastated by the loss of such an incredible person. No greater act of selflessness than to give your life for another.”
According to deputies, Turner’s tragic death was the second flooding incident they responded to the morning of Aug. 3, the Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office said in an Aug. 4 news release.
About an hour and a half before, at 5 a.m., rescuers helped another person who was trying to drive through a flooded part of the road.
“These events are deeply tragic and highlight just how quickly conditions can become deadly when floodwaters arise,” Cleburne County Sheriff Jon Daniel said in the release. “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family of the young man who lost his life and we ask our community to join us in keeping them in your prayers.”
Turner was remembered as “vibrant” and “beloved” in an online obituary.
“His adventurous spirit and generous heart will never be forgotten,” according to the obituary.
Cleburne County is about a 70-mile drive southwest from Atlanta, Georgia.
