LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A local fisherman is alive today because of a woman who jumped into the Ohio River to save his life.
Ann Rothpletz was awarded the U.S. Coast Guard Gold Lifesaving Medal on Tuesday night. In 2017, Rothpletz was visiting the Falls of the Ohio State Park with family when she noticed two fishermen struggling in the water. Rothpletz jumped into the water and was able to reach one of the fishermen, Bill Waugh, who was unconscious in the water. She was able to pull Waugh to shore.
"I can't explain it any other way but a miracle took place that day, and Ann did a courageous act that I don't even understand," Waugh said.
"It was really God's timing that allowed it to be possible," Rothpletz added. "Any later or earlier, it would have been difficult or impossible to have helped."
Ann Rothpletz
Waugh's cousin, Marcus Williams, did not survive.
The Coast Guard only awards a handful of the medals every year and calls the honor rare.
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