Kentucky Mom Dies After Heroically Rescuing Stranger's Child From Drowning

A Kentucky mom has died after rescuing a stranger's child from drowning.

​Sarah Jo Reeder, a mom raising three children, was visiting Phil Moore Park’s creek in Alvaton, an unincorporated community around 10 miles from Bowling Green, when she tried to rescue the child.

“She went in the water to try to save the boy, and he eventually pulled her down trying to come up,” Sarah’s friend, Melissa Donovan, told WBKO. “And ultimately, that’s how it went down.

“And a paddleboarder pulled her and the boy out of the water and then got emergency services on the way.”​

Sarah was later transported to the medical center in Bowling Green but died hours later, Dovovan said.

Donovan was not on the scene when the incident occurred on June 12. However, she says that she would like to see lifesavers at the creek, because “this is not an uncommon occurrence.”

“It happens every year down here and every year there’s a conversation about somebody saved somebody from drowning or getting taken down the river or whatever,” she said.

A SupportNow campaign to raise money for funeral expenses and Sarah’s children was launched by Ashley Flowers, a family friend.

Flowers said that her friend died “heroically saving a stranger’s child from drowning,” and described her as “always there to help anyone, anyway she could.”

​“Her sudden loss has left her family in shock and need,” Flowers wrote.

Speaking to WBKO, Flowers said that she learned of her friend’s death when Sarah’s son called her moments after she returned home from work.

“So I picked it up because he doesn’t call me, and he said, ‘You need to come to the hospital. Something’s going to happen with mom,’” she said.

According to Flowers, Sarah would have “run into a burning building” to help someone.

​“It’s just her automatic instinct is to help another person out, like to do whatever needs to be done to get the situation fixed or to handle it,” she continued. “And so that was not out of line for her whatsoever.”

​Flowers added, “I’m sure she probably never even touched the creek until that time.”

Becky Crick, Sarah’s mother, told WNKY that a woman dove into the river to save the late mom.

“She is an angel,” Becky said, referring to the as-yet unnamed woman. “She did everything she could to save Sarah’s life.

“Of course, at that time, the water had done so much damage, but she tried,” she continued.

Becky said that she found out about the incident from her grandson, since she was her daughter’s next of kin.

“He was like, ‘Maw, we need you at the medical center. There’s been an accident,’” she said.

Becky said that if she could say one final thing to her late daughter, she would say, “I’m proud of the beautiful, strong woman you would become. I’m proud of how you cared about other people. You are my daughter, and I love you.”