On Wednesday evening at Reedley Beach, as three kids were swept away in the Kings River, a brave bystander saw the children being pulled by the current and jumped in, only to drown himself.
Authorities learned that 29-year-old Manjeet Singh, identified Thursday, tried to help the children. Cmdr Marc Ediger of the Reedley Police Department said Singh jumped in the water and “went under” quickly.
Manjeet Singh was found downstream after emergency personnel searched for an hour.
The girl was taken to Valley Children’s Hospital. She was listed in critical condition as of Wednesday evening, Ediger said.
It took rescue crews 40 minutes to find Singh and pull him out of the water. He was found next to some brush not far from the shore.
On Thursday afternoon, police confirmed the 8-year-old girl is on life support at Valley Children’s Hospital. The little girl was with her friends and their parents when they were swept away.
Her family is from Mexico, and now her distraught parents are trying to fly her siblings in from there to see her one final time.
The two families have now been devastated after what was they hoped would be a fun evening in the river.
Reedley Police said this time of year the water can be dangerous and deceiving. The area beyond the shore dramatically drops off, and the current picks up.
“I think the kids waded out too far and started being carried by the current under the bridge,” said Ediger.
Officers don’t know how well Singh could swim and if any clothes he was wearing may have weighed him down, making it harder to tread water.