Teen Drowns Trying to Save Younger Brother from Calif. River: ‘My Son Died a Hero,’ Dad Says
The Sacramento Fire Department said Amari, 15, entered the Sacramento River alongside his younger brother on Sunday to fetch a football
GoFundme
Amari QuarlesA California teenager is being remembered for his big heart and heroic actions after he died trying to save his younger brother from a rushing river.
The Sacramento Fire Department (SFD) said the teen and two other individuals entered the Sacramento River on Sunday to fetch a football, FOX affiliate KTXL and CBS affiliate KOVR reported.
Soon after, 15-year-old Amari noticed that his 13-year-old brother Elijah was struggling in the water and attempted to rescue him, according to NBC affiliate KCRA-TV.
The boys’ mother, Yolanda Sashe, said she jumped in the water in hopes of helping both her children, per the report. She managed to reach Amari, but was unable to save him.
“I looked down at him and I looked up and I felt his hands drop,” she told the outlet. “Something came and pulled him away from me and he was gone.”
A nearby boater managed to help two of the three swimmers to safety, but one of the victims was pulled under, according to KTXL and KOVR. The missing teen’s body was later found in the water using sonar equipment.
The Sacramento County Coroner's Office identified the victim as Amari Quarles, according to online records.
"My son died a hero," father James Sashe wrote on a GoFundMe campaign set up on behalf of the grieving family.
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Amari recently moved to California “to be around family,” according to his father. The teenager “was a straight A student” at Natomas High School, he added.
The Natomas Unified School District paid tribute to Amari in a Facebook post that included a link to the family’s GoFundMe.
“Sunday, NUSD lost one of our students,” the district wrote. “It is a horrible tragedy and the family could use your help.”
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Conditions in the Sacramento River can be choppy this time of year due to high water levels, cold water temperatures and the current, SFD Captain Justin Sylvia told KCRA-TV.
Rescue swimmers “had to rotate quite frequently” while attempting to locate the missing teen in the water, Sylvia said. “It gets very tiring when you're out there searching for someone and trying to swim in that current,” he added.
As of Wednesday morning, over $17,000 has been raised for the family.
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