21-year-old man drowns trying to save young girl – one hour after being baptized in the same lake
A 21-year-old man drowned while rescuing a young girl from a lake in Texas – just an hour after he was baptized in the same body of water.
Lincer Lopez, 21, drowned in Lake Waxahachie, Texas, on Saturday afternoon when he rushed to rescue the girl.
Lopez accomplished this heroic feat shortly after he had “dedicated his life to God” in a baptism ceremony with his church congregation at the lake.
There are numerous tributes to the “heroic” victim who was in the water after the ceremony when the incident occurred.
Waxahachie Police responded to reports of a drowning accident at Boat Dock Park around 12:45 p.m. They found that Lopez had tragically died while attempting to save the girl.
Lincer Lopez, 21, drowned in Lake Waxahachie, Texas, on Saturday afternoon while rushing to the aid of a drowning teenager
The heroic act occurred shortly after Lopez had “dedicated his life to God” in a baptism ceremony with his church congregation at the lake.
The teenager, who was part of the same church group as Lopez, was pulled from the water by a passing boater who miraculously performed CPR on her. However, Lopez did not survive and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Jacob Bell, the boater who helped rescue the girl, told WFAA: “I haven’t really started yet, I haven’t really gotten it. It’s hard.”
Bell, whose own brother drowned at the age of just three, called Lopez a “hero.”
“He was a hero, he had just been baptized and had dedicated his life to the Lord,” he said.
“Our family, we pray for his family and we pray for the little girl’s family. And he was a strong boy, they should be very proud of him,” he added.
Lopez’s uncle Lincer admitted that the young man was so excited about his baptism that he couldn’t sleep the night before.
He also said that Lopez worked tirelessly in construction to support his seven younger siblings in Mexico, where they live with his parents.
He said his nephew was a hero who selflessly put others before him.
“He was a hero. He didn’t think twice about saving someone else,” he told the outlet in Spanish. “He didn’t think about the risk that he could die. And he risked his life to save someone else’s.”
Lopez’s uncle Lincer admitted that the young man was so excited about his baptism that he couldn’t sleep the night before.
A nearby boater, Jacob Bell, whose own brother drowned at the age of just three, pulled the girl from the water and miraculously revived her with CPR.
Lopez’s uncle said Lopez worked tirelessly in construction to support his seven younger siblings in Mexico, where they live with his parents.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Lopez’s family return his body to his parents in Mexico, where they live.
As of Monday afternoon, the fundraiser had raised $8,985 of its $25,000 goal.
“We are asking the community and friends of the Mejía López family for help. We need to raise money to transport his body to Chiapas Mx, his hometown, where his relatives are waiting for him,” the description says.
Waxahachie police expressed their condolences on Facebook.
“The Waxahachie Police Department, along with the entire community, would like to extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family,” they wrote.
