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Three heroes of happenstance

Fate seemingly put a boater, a diver and a nurse in position to rescue a family from Tampa Bay waters.

By CURTIS KRUEGER
Published November 8, 2005

	[Times photo: Willie Allen Jr.]
	Kerry Reardon talks with reporters at a news conference Monday in St. Petersburg about rescuing a 7-year-old boy from a submerged sport utility vehicle on Saturday.

The accident that sent the Jakupovic family hurtling into Tampa Bay in a Ford Explorer threatened to become a tragedy.

But four days later, the dramatic rescue by bystanders almost looks like a well-orchestrated plan.

It threw together a nurse who is trained in saving lives, a man who grew up diving off bridges like the one where the accident occurred and a boat captain who happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Each of these three had something crucial, a boat, medical training and knowledge of the sea, that worked in combination to save a family, including the unconscious second-grader who was strapped into the submerged sport utility vehicle.

"A tiny little boy ... needed some help, and God put us all there for a reason," said the nurse, Kelli Earle.

In interviews Monday, Earle and another rescuer painted a fuller picture of what they did to save the Jakupovic family.

The accident began about 1 p.m. Saturday on the Howard Frankland Bridge when the left rear tire of the Jakupovics' Explorer separated. The SUV spun, rolled, smashed into the concrete barrier and plunged into Tampa Bay.

The first thing that worked in the Jakupovics' favor was that a boat operated by Kenny Hyatt of Tampa was nearby. He steered close enough so that Mujo, Amira and and Emrah, the father, mother and 13-year-old son, could swim over.

The SUV already was in the water when another family, the Reardons, drove over the bridge. Kara Reardon, 15, was getting a driving lesson. Kerry Reardon asked her to pull over and got out to help.

Here he goes again , thought Kara, who has heard all about her father's exploits with bull sharks and other dangers in the sea.

Reardon, 43, of St. Petersburg grew up diving off Pinellas County bridges to find stone crabs, so he wasn't scared to plunge off the Howard Frankland and into the into the waves 15 feet below.

He has known for years that even when the current flows swiftly on the surface, the waters can lie still below, so you can hold your breath and linger until you find what you're searching for.

And even though he doesn't go to church, Reardon believes angels watch over him, and that God speaks to him when he's out on saltwater.

He stood on the bridge's edge, studying the bubbles below so he could deduce the truck's location beneath the surface and make sure he didn't crack his head on it. He watched. And studied. And dove, headfirst.

Down in the murky water, he saw the outline of the Explorer, and was careful to swim past it because of the maneuver he was going to try next.

He rose up and gasped for breath. The current pushed him backward, placing him right above the truck. He swam back down, and into what he's pretty sure was the driver's side window. He reached into the back, unbuckled 7-year-old Amar and pulled him out.

Back on the surface, Reardon gave the lifeless Amar a breath. Water came out of the boy's mouth.

Reardon said he doesn't know CPR too well, but he had other reasons for giving Amar a breath. "You're going to call me stupid, but I believe I got angels. And I was just hoping a couple of them would go into him," he said.

By this time, Earle, a registered nurse at Bayfront Medical Center, had jumped into the water and was swimming to Hyatt's boat.

"There is a point where you have to gauge risk to yourselves vs. others," she said. But given her medical training and the child's obvious need, she believed, "It was a feasible option."

She climbed into the boat and began giving Amar CPR.

"With a heck of a lot of people and a heck of a lot of blessings he will hopefully walk home and play with his brother and be with his family," she said. She said she was "very proud of the job that a group of strangers did."

Amira Jakupovic said, "I owe them my life."

Kristen Salomon, a social psychologist at the University of South Florida, says research has shown many variables can persuade bystanders not to help out in crisis situations: confusion about whether it's really an emergency; doubt about whether it's their responsibility to help; uncertainty over their ability to help. This rescue was impressive, she said, because so many people did help.

For thousands of commuters who cross the bay's bridges daily into Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties, the thought of plunging into the water is a background worry.

For some, such as Clearwater lifeguard and emergency medical technician Lucas Semple, "It's a no-brainer. Somebody with my training and experience, I wouldn't even think about it."

But he said he would never dive in without making sure that someone was calling 911, to bring additional emergency personnel.

"I stop at accidents all the time," said Michael Johnson, 29, a U.S. Army communications specialist stationed at MacDill Air Force Base. Johnson is a trained emergency medical technician who said he once came upon an accident where someone died before he got there. Now, he said, he has to stop at them all. "I just know I can do something to help. I don't like to see people standing by watching."

But Johnson's wife wasn't so certain. Andrea Johnson, 28, said she'd be more likely to stop and call for help from her cell phone. "I wouldn't know what to do. ... I think I would hinder more than help."

Reardon went to the hospital on Monday and saw Amar, who he said could not speak to him. He said he is pulling for Amar, hoping he will be all right. He also was careful to stress what others had done.

"That captain and his boat, without him there'd probably be four dead people," Reardon said. "That nurse - I can fake CPR, but it probably wouldn't have turned out the same."

--Times staff writers Rebecca Catalanello, Graham Brink and Tom Zucco contributed to this report.

[Last modified November 8, 2005, 05:18:56]