Heroes With Heart Honored In Lake Elsinore

Thirteen-year-old Alex Garcia III of Lake Elsinore is shy and small in stature, but he brought nearly 200 cops, firefighters, paramedics, 911 dispatchers, and officials to their feet Friday night during the eighth annual “Heroes with Heart” awards dinner hosted by the Trauma Intervention Programs (TIP) Southwest Riverside County Chapter.

The event, spearheaded by TIP Southwest Riverside County Executive Director Gina Magee, and emceed by her husband, Lake Elsinore City Councilman Bob Magee, was held at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore and honored 14 individual first responders and one service organization (see complete list below) for going above and beyond the call of duty to save lives.

Alex was the man of the hour at the gala.

In June, the Terra Cotta Middle School student was begging his mom for permission to go swimming at the community pool in their apartment complex. She was reluctant because the family was celebrating the birthday of Alex’s older sister and company was on its way.

“She didn’t want me to go, but she let me. And it was weird, because I felt like something was going to go wrong,” Alex said.

Once at the pool, he watched as his adult neighbor jumped into the water with a boogie board.

“His head kind of snapped back and he hit it on the board,” Alex explained. “I asked if he was ok and he didn’t respond.”

Alex had taken a junior lifeguard class in Orange County, so he went into rescue mode: The teen worked to get the man to the side of the pool, but the injured swimmer couldn’t grab onto the ledge.

“His arm was like spaghetti,” Alex said. “I didn’t know if he was alive.”

Instead, the teen led the man to the pool’s stairs. As Alex and his mom waited for paramedics to arrive, the man was clearly injured.

“He went in and out of consciousness,” explained Araceli Garcia, who is Alex’s mom.

But the story has a happy ending: Although the man suffered a broken neck, he recovered and escaped paralysis, Araceli said.

“He’s in physical therapy but he can walk and go back to work,” she explained.

In the eyes of the men and women in uniform, Alex is a hero: They gave him a standing ovation Friday night, and Sheriff Stan Sniff personally thanked the teen for his gallant act.

Alex was in good company: Thirteen other people and one service organization – the Lake Elsinore Marine Search and Rescue (LEMSAR) – were also honored Friday. Each received a certificate of recognition signed by state officials and the entire Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

Most of those honored Friday were police officers, fire officials, 911 dispatchers or paramedics. (See complete list below.)

“It was just a day on the job,” said Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Gabriel Constantin, who works out of the Lake Elsinore station. The deputy’s remarks came Friday as he was honored for saving the life of a 77-year-old woman who became severely dehydrated and disoriented one summer day this year after missing her bus to a local senior living home. Constantin spotted the woman in the Lake Elsinore Walmart parking lot and knew something was wrong, so he got her some water, moved her into his squad car and called paramedics in.

Christopher Brown, a paramedic with American Medical Response, was also honored Friday. He was off duty earlier this year when he checked in on a local elderly man who had required AMR's services in the past. The senior citizen had no local family, and he so he confided in Brown and said he had been experiencing chest pain. Brown immediately called in the forces, and as it turned out the man was suffering a heart attack.

“It’s a gift,” Brown said of the opportunity to save lives, but he thanked the TIP volunteers. “You are my true heroes.”

Brown has seen TIP volunteers in action. They are called out to investigation scenes by first responders whenever a traumatic incident happens – homicide or other crime, suicide, serious injury, or accidental death. The volunteers are the liasons between officials and the family, friends and witnesses on scene. The volunteers are shoulders to cry on for those who are grieving. (Click here to read more about TIP.)

The TIP service is free, and the non-profit organization survives on donations and the willingness of community members to serve. There are currently about 45 volunteers, but Gina Magee said the organization is always seeking more.

For more information on volunteering, contact Magee at 951-226-6793; ginalmagee@gmail.com.

List of those honored Friday night:

Randy Merrill – Riverside County Sheriff's Department - 911 Dispatch

Kathy Martinez – Riverside County Sheriff's Department - 911 Dispatch (Martinez was also honored with the Dep. Kent Hintergardt "Top Cop" award.)

Dep. June Cox – Riverside County Sheriff's Department – Lake Elsinore

Fire Engineer Sean DeGrave – Murrieta Fire Department

Dep. Gabriel Constantin – Riverside County Sheriff's Department – Lake Elsinore

Dep. Michael Mosca – Riverside County Sheriff's Department – Lake Elsinore

Dep. Orlando Castaneda – Riverside County Sheriff's Department – Temecula

Dep. Tyrel Burch – Riverside County Sheriff's Department – Wildomar

Dr. Adriane Campo, MD – Rancho Springs Medical Center

Julie Ideta, RN – Rancho Springs Medical Center

Capt. Ernie Sanchez – California Highway Patrol – Temecula

Alex Garcia III, (Private Citizen) Lake Elsinore

Volunteers of the Lake Elsinore Marine Search and Rescue (LEMSAR)

Christopher Brown – Paramedic with American Medical Response (Brown was also honored with the Chief Phil Armentrout "Top Firefighter" award.)

Det. Victor Carrillo – Murrieta Police Department