Two teen boys from North Lauderdale, Florida, are feeling the love and gratitude of their community after risking their own safety to save a stranger’s life.
Tony Cooper and his friend Elijah Hodge, both 13, were walking home from a Dollar Tree store on West McNab Road on the night of May 29 when they saw a driver suddenly lose control of his pickup truck and crash into a canal. Their quick response prevented what could have been a tragic drowning in the small southeastern Florida city. The teens recounted to authorities what happened next:
“We rushed and took off our shoes and stuff,” said Cooper. “We literally jumped on the hood and then we took off the seat belt and then we pulled them out. I started screaming at him because he was heavy while he was in the car. We were screaming, he woke up, we helped him get out of the car and after that, he was on the hood and then we pulled him onto the grass.”
Soon afterward, Broward County deputies and North Lauderdale Fire Rescue units arrived on the scene and found the semi-conscious driver on a grassy embankment. The man is reportedly in stable condition at a hospital. According to a cellphone video, divers then entered the water and attempted to pull the pickup truck out of the canal.
Witness Dorothy Borgelin, the mayor’s wife, happened to be nearby when she heard a loud noise and then watched the boys spring into action. “Sure enough, I saw there was a car — a pickup truck — that was going under the water,” she recalled. “Then there were two kids, they were on the other side, and then they just jumped into the water. One of them went on top of the hood, and the other one was in the water, trying to pull the man out. They did an amazing job to save the man’s life.”
Tony Cooper’s mom, Jones Mekia, took to social media to share how proud she was, “I thank god I do teach my kids to help people even if they don’t know them I thank god my son and his friend was able to help this young man i’m so proud of them 
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The close-knit community of North Lauderdale — spanning just 4.6 square miles — has rallied behind the boys to congratulate them on their heroic actions. When the story broke on a local news station, one viewer named Nancy was so moved that she offered each of the boys $250 checks, and the exchange was aired on 7News.
“I just want to say thank you from my heart to your heart,” the area resident told the teens, nearly tearing up as she hugged them. I’m just so proud of you, boys.”
North Lauderdale’s mayor, Samson Borgelin, released a statement of gratitude and thanks for the boys’ courage:
“I am incredibly proud of these young citizens and their heroic efforts. I will be reaching out to them and their families to formally recognize their bravery.”
The teens are now hometown heroes.
“I feel great,” said Cooper.
“I feel happy,” said Hodge.
Broward County has more than a dozen lakes and nearly 266 miles of waterways crisscrossing its communities, and, unfortunately, this is not the first time its waters have claimed or almost claimed a life.
In 2022, in the nearby city of Sunrise, 17-year-old Adin Perry jumped into a lake to help passengers after a car crash. Tragically, he hit his head on a rock and died while trying to help. His mother, Sarah Perry, is on a mission to install 300 life rings throughout the county near bodies of water, accompanied by signs that say “Throw, don’t go.”
One such life ring was near the crash site in North Lauderdale. Perry met with the two young heroes to encourage them to throw the rings into the water instead of risking their own lives in an emergency. “It scares me to think of what could have happened to you,” she told the teens in a 7News segment.
In North Lauderdale, an environmental restoration project to improve the canals is underway. Over the past 50 years, many of the canal banks have severely eroded to the point that they are “threatening to both structures and the health and safety of the residents,” said a funding request submitted to the state Senate in December. If approved, the project would be completed by July 2025.
