VIDEO: Man Jumps Off Pier To Save Drowning Woman In Sunny Isles Beach
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SUNNY ISLES (CBSMiami) -- A man eating with his family jumped into action after hearing a woman screaming in the water.
Javier Fernandez, 27, is being hailed as a hero after saving 19-year old Rose Cireus who was caught in life threatening currents after saving her own sister.
"If it was not for that guy (Fernandez) I would have died," said Cireus while being treated at Aventura Hospital on Thursday.
Cireus originally went into the water near Sunny Isles Beach's Newport Pier and saw her 23-year old sister struggling in the water. She was able to push her sister back to safety but not herself.
"The waves were so huge," she recalled.
Cireus says she knows how to swim, but her sister doesn't.
"Then all I see is white. My body started to give up. Wow, who's gonna help me. When I was under the water when I open my eyes all I could see was white. I thought I was gonna die."
The current pulled her back out - causing her to struggle and start going under.
Fernandez, who was eating with his wife and young child at a restaurant on the pier, heard her screams and jumped off the pier several feet into the water.
Fernandez - who had never met Cireus - was able to pull her to safety - saving her life in Sunny Isles Beach.
Cameras caught the full rescue as Fernandez struggled to pull her back to the shore. Minutes later, he was able to drag her back up onto the shore where she seemed to not be responding. He is seen turning her over on her side and that's when she began moving again.
Another video shows Fernandez returning to join his wife and baby in the restaurant after the rescue. Patrons of the restaurant greeted him with a round of applause. His wife is heard saying, "my hero" in the video.
Cireus wants to meet Fernandez and thank him.
"At the end of the day, I'm here because of him and truly, truly I am blessed," Cireus said.
