Quick Action by Pair Save Man in Garden Grove

Two Garden Grove men became accidental heroes when they raced to rescue a 26-year-old man who was drowning in the swimming pool at their apartment complex, police said Thursday.

Robert Brockway and Jung Choi, residents of the Florentine Apartments on Casa Linda Lane, were arriving home from work Wednesday at about 6 p.m. when they saw the man struggling in the deep end.

Brockway jumped in and brought the unidentified man to the surface. Choi helped pull him out of the pool, police said. The man was in stable condition Thursday evening at Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center.

Police Sgt. Pat Thrasher said the man had been in the shallow end earlier with his sister and a family friend.

“They took their eyes off him for a moment, and when they looked they saw he was underwater in the deep end, trying to swim to the surface.” The women, who were poor swimmers, tossed the victim a life preserver, but the man, who has Down’s syndrome, “had a difficult time grabbing on to it,” Thrasher said.

The victim was underwater for no more than one minute, Thrasher said.