Positivity: Hero in towboat sinking two years ago is hero again
07/14/2007
As Donald Leroy Brown watched the murky rainwater surge down Baker Street on July 5, the Aliquippa man said he couldn’t believe some of his neighbors were standing in the midst of the deluge, retrieving belongings from their cars or trying to push them out of the fierce current.
“What’s wrong with these people? Don’t they know it’s a flood?” Brown recalled thinking.
Brown knows firsthand the power of unbridled waters. On Jan. 9, 2005, he was one of four crewmembers of the Rocket towboat who rushed to the rescue of their mates aboard the Elizabeth M, which was swamped at the Montgomery Locks and Dam in Industry.
For his efforts in rescuing two crewmembers, Brown and the others earlier this year were awarded the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission Medal, which honors civilians who have risked or given their lives while trying to save others.
Now, Brown is being called a hero once again, having plucked one of his neighbors from the floodwaters in Aliquippa as she was swept down Baker Street little more than a week ago.
rown said that in both cases, he was simply doing the right thing, hoping that someday, if he was in the same position, someone would try to help him.
“I just did what I had to do. You don’t do stuff like that to be a hero,” Brown said Thursday.
But for those in the community who now know of both rescues, they are amazed by Brown’s bravery and selflessness.
“God has a plan for this man, put him in the right place at the right time for a reason,” said Aliquippa Assistant Police Chief Andre Davis. …..
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