2 Heroes 1 Hudson

A 2014 community barbecue in Yonkers, New York, turned tragic after a 5-year-old boy entered the Hudson River and was seen floating away from shore. Alerted to the situation, Boyce Coleman, of Yonkers, and Jenna Fanelli, of Elmsford, New York, climbed a fence along the bank and entered the river.

"Everyone was screaming. It was like 200 people lined up screaming for help. They were saying, 'Get a rope! Get a rope! He needs to get a rope!' but obviously nobody had a rope," Fanelli recounts in this episode.

Both of them reached the boy, but bringing him back to the bank meant swimming one-handed against the swift tidal current.

Listen to the story of the rescue of 5-year-old Stephen Jones from drowning in the Hudson River.

For more about Jenna Fanelli and Boyce Coleman, visit their hero pages at carnegiehero.org. 

Fear on Hold is produced by the Carnegie Hero Fund, Big Science Pods, and Bill Garrison.

To nominate someone for the Carnegie Medal: https://www.carnegiehero.org/nominate/investigative-process/
To search the database of more than 10,000 Carnegie heroes: https://www.carnegiehero.org/heroes/search-heroes/
To learn more about the Hero Fund: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLRhEnfJ3As

Logo Design: Dave Hughes
Video Production: Untitled Content
Art Direction: Dan Minskey
Media Planning: GH Advertising
Music: Jay Green
Narration: Rebecca Senneway