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College Sailor 'Died a Hero'
As yacht rapidly sank, safety officer gave his life pushing his 2 crewmates to safety
By Rob Quinn
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Posted Jun 10, 08 7:53 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Survivors of a capsized college yacht yesterday hailed the boat's safety officer as a hero who gave his life to save theirs, CNN reports. Roger Stone died after pushing two of his Texas A&M University crewmates to safety from below decks last week as the craft rapidly took on water. The five who made it out of the boat spent 26 hours in the Gulf of Mexico before being rescued.
"He's my hero. He saved me," one of the survivors said of Stone. "I wouldn't be here without him." The Coast Guard saved the survivors, who huddled in the water sharing only four life jackets between them, after spotting a flashlight held by one of them. Divers later pulled Stone's body from the sunken vessel. The college teammates were on their way to compete in a regatta in Mexico.