GRAFTON, Ill. (KMOX) - A Jersey County, Ill. Sheriff's Deputy is being hailed as a hero after rescuing an 83-year-old man who was trapped in his car in waist-high floodwater early Sunday afternoon.
Sheriff Mike Ringhausen tells KMOX, Deputy Justin Decker saw the man who had driven into the water along State Highway 100 near Pere Marquette State Park.
"He put on his life jacket, swam out to the man in the water, took his life jacket off and put it on the elderly man," Ringhausen explained.
He led the victim about 75-feet, back to dry ground. The victim was treated at a hospital and released.
Deputy Decker went home and changed clothes, then returned to work.
The Sheriff's Office shared the news on Facebook with a photo of the car stranded in the water, thanking Decker for his "heroic efforts."
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