Steven Sizemore. Courtesy Sizemore Family.
Looking out on the Dan River
Matthew Magyar, a friend and one of the people rescued by Sizemore recalls where the accident happened.
Madison, NC -- Authorities tell News 2 a 20-year-old man who jumped into the water to save two others from drowning, has died.
First responders were called to a possible drowning Thursday evening at the Dam of the Dan River, just off Lindsay Bridge Road in Madison.
Authorities said six people had been trying to swim in the river, where the current was dangerous because of a substantial amount of rain over the past few days.
Two people were swimming on the upper side of the dam and got caught in the current of the spillway, authorities said. After falling six feet down, they were caught in the hydraulics.
Twenty-year-old Steven Sizemore jumped in to save them and succeeded.
"He reached out and grabbed my hand...I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him," said Charlee Newman, 18, who was rescued by her childhood friend, Steven Sizemore.
However, Sizemore was caught in the current in the process and drowned.
"The current took Steven down and when he came up, he was no longer conscious," said Matthew Magyer, 20, who was also rescued by his friend, Sizemore. "He's never lost a fight a day in his life."
First responders performed CPR on Sizemore. He was transported to Cone Health, but pronounced dead on arrival.
"If we hadn't swam across the river, he would still be alive," said Newman.
One of the juvenile victims was transported to Morehead Hospital in Eden. The other juvenile did not need to be treated.