The man who jumped into the Cape Fear River to save a struggling victim Saturday night was wearing a shirt emblazoned with Lifeguard.
But, he isn't a lifeguard.
He is New Hanover County Fire Capt. Steve Hunt.
Although he was offf-duty enjoying the evening in Wilmington with girlfriend, his instincts kicked in when he saw the drowning man, WECT reported.
“I’m calling for him to reach for my hand. And he’s just not, he’s not swimming good at all. His head is going under, and then he would get up just for a moment, and then it would go under,” said Hunt.
The captain quickly realized he was dealing with more than just a frantic person.
“I was trying to keep him focused on anything else other than, you know, the bad stuff,” said Hunt. “I was like, ‘Hey, man, I know it’s kind of a weird time. But look at the battleship, how cool it looks. We got a view here that most people don’t get to have.’ It was kind of a peaceful moment in this weird chaos.”
Heather Miller wasn't the least bit surprised when her boyfriend dashed to help.
“I would expect nothing less. And I feel like anything that comes up where somebody needs help, he’s a given. It’s not a question. It’s just instinct."
Hunt shrugs off the notion he's a hero. “I don’t know if I’m in on the hero part of it. But it’s nice. Anybody else that was here, wearing one of the uniforms, and I think, probably half our community, would have done the same exact thing."
