An unidentified good Samaritan who helped rescue a 6-year-old Kauai boy from a sport utility vehicle that was partially submerged in water is an angel in disguise, say the child’s parents.
"I am forever grateful," said Dominika Warner of Kapaa. "There are no words to express my gratitude."
Jacob Warner, who turns 7 on Friday, was in critical condition at the pediatric intensive care unit of Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children after he was involved in an accident during a camping trip near Polihale beach on Kauai’s west side Monday night.
Shortly after 7 p.m., Warner and his younger sister, Amelia, 4, were in a vehicle driven by their father, Matt Warner, that was traveling south on a dirt road toward the beach. When Matt Warner lost control of the vehicle, it flipped over into a ditch and was partially submerged in water, according to a news release by the Kauai Police Department.
Immediately after the crash, Matt Warner said he tried to feel his way around while inside the vehicle, but nightfall and deployed airbags made seeing difficult. Determined to rescue his children, he went underwater, pushed the airbags away and felt an opening through one of the vehicle’s windows where he pulled himself through. "It was filled with mud. I found enough of an opening to squeeze through," he said.
He grabbed his daughter from the rear passenger seat and put her on top of the vehicle out of harm’s way. He quickly went back for his son who was seated in the front passenger seat, but the boy was upside down and tangled in the seat belt.
He struggled to free his son when he saw headlights from a car nearby and yelled at the top of his lungs for help. The driver, an emergency medical technician, stopped and handed Warner a knife to cut his son free. The unidentified man then yanked Jacob to shore, and the two performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation with the man administered chest pumps while Warner breathed into his son’s mouth.
"He had a pulse, thank God," said Warner.
After they revived Jacob, the man grabbed an oxygen mask from his car to put on the child before paramedics arrived and transported the Warners to Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital.
Dominika Warner said she received a call at their home from a police officer and her husband Monday night about the accident, and she rushed to the hospital. Jacob Warner, accompanied by his mother, was then flown to Oahu and taken to Kapiolani Medical Center, where he is on a respiratory machine to help him breathe.
"I’m trying to keep my spirits up for him because that’s what he needs. I’m anxious. I’m scared," she said in a telephone interview from the hospital. "Overall, I keep praying and believing that everything will be OK and will end up the way it should."
She said her son tried to open his eyes Tuesday. Doctors want to keep him sedated for a few days to help his lungs heal.
"We’re hoping for the best. We’re praying for the best," she added.
The Warners moved to Kauai from Seattle almost five years ago. Jacob’s mother said her son enjoys going to the beach, one of his favorite places.
The Warners said they want to thank the good Samaritan in person for his help in rescuing their son.
Still shaken from the accident, Matt Warner — his voice choking up — said all prayers from the public for the recovery of his son are welcome.
