ICY WATER RESCUE
Two residents receive Boulder County Sheriff’s Commendations
On a cold, snowy day in late November, Kevin Grossi set out for a run near his Superior home. Moments later, he watched as a mother fell into an icy pond while trying to rescue her young son who had fallen in after sledding down a hill. In seconds, Grossi, 44, was on the phone with 911. Then, he sprinted the 60 yards to get to the pond, threw his phone on the bank and jumped in. Meanwhile, witness Crystal Chinn, 39, also called 911 and gathered blankets and coats from her car. “They were in shock,” Grossi said. “They weren’t moving, they weren’t swimming toward the shore. I got to that point where I was like I got to go in.” Grossi said by the time he reached the boy, the boy was likely already in the water for four to five minutes. Grossi grabbed the boy and instructed the mother to hold onto his shirt with the chilling water reaching his chest. After the boy, the mother and Grossi were out of the water, Chinn provided them with blankets and coats from her car, including her daughter’s favorite blanket, which the 3-year-old immediately offered to give up for the shivering strangers. “I was explaining the situation, and she was like, ‘Yeah, we need to give them our blankets.’ I was like, ‘Okay, can we give them your jacket?’ and she was like ‘Yes, give him my jacket. I’ll help,’” Chinn said. “She was very sweet to give up her favorite blankets and her jacket.” Chinn said at the time they were not expecting to get the belongings back, but an officer later dropped them off at their home. In March, the two Superior residents received Sheriff’s Commendation awards from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office for their heroic acts. In a Superior Facebook post, a spokesperson wrote, “Their immediate response changed what could have been a very different outcome. They are both
very deserving of this recognition and heartfelt appreciation.”
Chinn said she was really surprised by the recognition as she believes any Superior resident would have done the same. Nevertheless, Chinn was appreciative of the award and said, “It was really neat.”
“We saw it, and we reacted,” Chinn said. “Any neighbor I know would’ve done the same.”
Grossi encourages Coloradans to stay clear of ice in the winter, as it can be thinner than expected. However, for anyone who finds themselves in a situation like Grossi did, he advised
to “just be the calmest person there.”
“If you see people and you have the ability, help,” Grossi said. “They were in need, I had the ability to do it, and I did it.”