Community Corner

Doctor, Dad Saves Woman At Sandy Hook On Father's Day

Aran Degenhardt of River Edge didn't have to think. Or fear.

When you're a doctor, that's how it works. Or a dad.

Degenhardt saw the woman pulled out in the riptide. As others stood and watched, he grabbed his board, and hustled out to sea.

"I just went out there as fast as I could," he said as he celebrated Father's Day with his 4-year-old daughter, Zaria, at Sandy Hook on Sunday.

Park rangers then came to assist the woman, who was not identified. She reported having some water in her lungs, but Degenhardt told her to lay at her side and stay calm.

Degenhardt was a lifeguard way back in high school. But he knew what to do, just as he would with a patient. Or his child.

"With what I do, you can't have fear," he said.


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