Owner Vince Southon of Eastside Towing &Recovery LLC was at an auto body shop in Waipahu hooking a vehicle to his tow truck Monday afternoon during a heavy downpour when he recalled hearing faint cries for help.
“It was raining hard, and I heard the boy screaming, ‘Help, help!’” Southon said in a phone interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “It was really soft.”
He peered into the canal along Leonui Street and saw 10-year-old Timothy Phillip hanging onto a tree branch protruding from the side of the canal in raging waters.
Southon said he sprinted to his tow truck, where he grabbed rope and tied a lasso. He lowered it to Phillip, who managed to put it around his body, and Southon quickly pulled him to safety.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the Emergency Medical Services Division honored Southon for his heroic efforts at
Ho nolulu Hale on Friday. “Not only are you a hero; you’re an epitome of a hero in what you’ve done saving this young man,” Blangiardi said during a livestreamed ceremony.
Phillip, who was also at the event, hugged and thanked Southon. “Thank you for helping me and pulling me out of the canal as quick as you can,” Phillip said.
Honolulu police, Emergency Medical Services and the Honolulu Fire Department responded to a report of two boys swept away in a canal in Waipahu shortly after 4 p.m. Monday. Creeks, streams and canals that are normally docile became raging torrents that day due to the heavy rain, said Honolulu Emergency Medical Services Chief Dr. James Ireland.
David Sato, vice president of Westside Fender/Body &Refinishing, who witnessed Phillip’s rescue, said, “(Southon) was yanking the rope so fast.”
The canal was raging, Sato said.
Employees called 911 and assisted Southon as he pulled Phillip out of the torrential water with the rope. Sato said they brought him to the auto body shop and covered him with a jacket. “He was pretty much in shock.”
Southon recalled Phillip was exhausted and could barely stand up.
EMS arrived, treated Phillip for minor scrapes to his body and took him to the hospital.
Ireland said a search for the other boy was called off after they learned he made it out on his own and was at home.
“All in all, a harrowing day on Monday but a great outcome, and we really can’t thank him enough,” Ireland said as he turned to Southon.
After Blangiardi recognized Southon for his selfless act and offered the microphone to him to say a few words, Southon politely declined.
“I’m not one for the limelight,” he said after the ceremony ended.
