POINT REYES-
Two Modesto men saved a hiker’s life in Marin County over the weekend all while risking their own.
It was a dramatic Saturday afternoon for three men, whose lives are now forever intertwined, forever changed.
“Main thing I was thinking is ‘Is he alive?,” Joel Deering, a Modesto resident told FOX40 on Monday.
Deering and friend Cody Lamonte were hiking in Point Reyes when a stranger asked them for help. Her friend had fallen about eight stories off a cliff.
“You never hope that you have to but you know, it’s good to be prepared. You know, both of us, I had a very small first aid kid that I left in my car,” Lamonte, a lifelong Modesto resident, told FOX40.
Both Modesto men are medically trained, Lamonte as a first responder, Deering as a surgical service assistant.
“I always bring a first aid kit and water and anything else that I can because you know, you never know when something’s going to happen,” Joel said.
While they weren’t expecting to employ their skills, they both literally jumped and swam to the rescue.
“Instantly, we just started running and we asked ‘where?’ and she said the point where we were actually going which was Arch Rock,” Deering said.
Risking their own lives for a stranger in need, the friends found themselves face-to-face with a 24-year-old man they know as Alex.
“Alex had pulled himself up on the rocks with two broken wrists, all of his ribs were broken, except for two,” Lamonte told us.
They said, the young man was in bad shape, badly injured from the fall but somehow managed to stay conscious.
“We just kept checking his pulse, making sure that he was breathing properly and then I just kept making sure that he was drinking water,” Deering said.
By the time CHP managed to airlift Alex, the two friends faced dangerous waters. They were unable to swim to safety and had to be rescued themselves.
“We’re glad he’s ok, and I got a chance to talk to him last night in Marin County and he’s expected to make a full recovery,” Lamonte told us.
All three are now safe with the unforgettable rescue forever etched in their minds.
CHP said the hiker is recovering in the hospital. He suffered major injuries.
