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American Morning
Toney Saley Being Hailed as Hero For Risking Life to Save Baby
Aired July 07, 2003 - 07:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Toney Saley is being hailed as a hero for risking his life to save a baby from the Mississippi River. It happened on Friday as Saley waited for a fireworks show at the river's edge in St. Paul, Minnesota. A mother allegedly threw her twin 1-year-old boys from a bridge into the raging waters then jumped in after them. Saley rescued the woman and one of the boys, but the second child was lost. Police say his body was found last night.
Joining us now from his home in La Crosse, Wisconsin is spectator turned lifesaver Tony Saley.
Good morning and thanks for joining us.
TONY SALEY, RESCUED INFANT FROM MISSISSIPPI RIVER: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's start with what happened. Did you see the woman throw her babies, both of them, over the bridge and into the water or did you just jump in?
SALEY: Nope, I didn't see it happen at all. I was just walking down underneath the bridge at the time and I heard a large splash and by the crowd's reaction, I knew something bad had happens.
O'BRIEN: The river is very deep. The current's very fast. Did you hesitate at all before you jumped in?
SALEY: No hesitation at all. They needed help and they needed it right away.
O'BRIEN: I know you got in. You were able to pull the baby out. You went back to pull the mother out. Some reports have described her as incoherent and screaming and hysterical.
Did she seem that way to you? Did she say anything to you?
SALEY: She was screaming frantically over and over and over something, I don't know if it was one of her child's names, or it sort of sounded like freedom, something of that sort.
O'BRIEN: Were you aware at that time that there was a second baby in the water still?
SALEY: No, I wasn't. When I was out there, all I seen was the mother and the one child. And I didn't see the other baby at all.
O'BRIEN: I know the police continued to search. They say they found the body of the second infant. It must be, in spite of being able to save one child, very disappointing to you to not be able to save them both.
SALEY: Yes, it's very disappointing. You know, if I might have been there a little bit sooner or something of that sort, you know, maybe a second child would have been saved.
O'BRIEN: Of the thousands of people who were watching the fireworks display -- and I know you were there with your family -- you and two others were the only ones who jumped in to try to rescue the woman and her babies. You're being hailed as a hero today.
Do you think that's an apt description?
SALEY: That's a pretty good description. Me and the two other guys that went in there, it was just my hat's off to them, too. You know, it takes a lot of courage to get out there and do something like that.
O'BRIEN: No question about it.
How are you feeling today, a couple of hours after this rescue?
SALEY: I feel great sorrow for the baby that was lost and I'm just happy for the baby. It's doing all right, I guess, I've heard, and I just hope the best for that baby.
O'BRIEN: All right, well, Tony Saley, thank you so much for that.
We just really appreciate it.
And thanks for joining us this morning.
SALEY: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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Aired July 7, 2003 - 07:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Toney Saley is being hailed as a hero for risking his life to save a baby from the Mississippi River. It happened on Friday as Saley waited for a fireworks show at the river's edge in St. Paul, Minnesota. A mother allegedly threw her twin 1-year-old boys from a bridge into the raging waters then jumped in after them. Saley rescued the woman and one of the boys, but the second child was lost. Police say his body was found last night.
Joining us now from his home in La Crosse, Wisconsin is spectator turned lifesaver Tony Saley.
Good morning and thanks for joining us.
TONY SALEY, RESCUED INFANT FROM MISSISSIPPI RIVER: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's start with what happened. Did you see the woman throw her babies, both of them, over the bridge and into the water or did you just jump in?
SALEY: Nope, I didn't see it happen at all. I was just walking down underneath the bridge at the time and I heard a large splash and by the crowd's reaction, I knew something bad had happens.
O'BRIEN: The river is very deep. The current's very fast. Did you hesitate at all before you jumped in?
SALEY: No hesitation at all. They needed help and they needed it right away.
O'BRIEN: I know you got in. You were able to pull the baby out. You went back to pull the mother out. Some reports have described her as incoherent and screaming and hysterical.
Did she seem that way to you? Did she say anything to you?
SALEY: She was screaming frantically over and over and over something, I don't know if it was one of her child's names, or it sort of sounded like freedom, something of that sort.
O'BRIEN: Were you aware at that time that there was a second baby in the water still?
SALEY: No, I wasn't. When I was out there, all I seen was the mother and the one child. And I didn't see the other baby at all.
O'BRIEN: I know the police continued to search. They say they found the body of the second infant. It must be, in spite of being able to save one child, very disappointing to you to not be able to save them both.
SALEY: Yes, it's very disappointing. You know, if I might have been there a little bit sooner or something of that sort, you know, maybe a second child would have been saved.
O'BRIEN: Of the thousands of people who were watching the fireworks display -- and I know you were there with your family -- you and two others were the only ones who jumped in to try to rescue the woman and her babies. You're being hailed as a hero today.
Do you think that's an apt description?
SALEY: That's a pretty good description. Me and the two other guys that went in there, it was just my hat's off to them, too. You know, it takes a lot of courage to get out there and do something like that.
O'BRIEN: No question about it.
How are you feeling today, a couple of hours after this rescue?
SALEY: I feel great sorrow for the baby that was lost and I'm just happy for the baby. It's doing all right, I guess, I've heard, and I just hope the best for that baby.
O'BRIEN: All right, well, Tony Saley, thank you so much for that.
We just really appreciate it.
And thanks for joining us this morning.
SALEY: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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