By Scott Cronick
Press of Atlantic City
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — When Lou Rosso arrived at the Atlantic City beach Monday night, he was looking forward to celebrating the Fourth of July by viewing oceanside fireworks with his family.
He ended up saving two lives.
The 70-year-old Egg Harbor Township resident said he nearly drowned himself Monday night after running into the water, diving through waves and keeping two young children afloat for about 10 minutes until all three were rescued about 8:30 p.m. before the citywide fireworks began.
Rosso’s wife Julie, 62, said she was walking on the beach between Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino and Caesars Atlantic City with her grandchildren and other family members when she saw her husband — who was walking ahead of them — take off his hat, glasses and shoes. He then jumped into the ocean and started swimming without telling anyone where he was going.
“I thought, ‘Man, that is weird,’” she said. “We were just getting there, but I thought he was jumping in because he was hot.”
Lou Rosso said he must have swam about 100 yards into the ocean, and when he reached the two children — confirmed 10 and 12 years old by Atlantic City Emergency Management Coordinator Tom Foley — they immediately grabbed him.
“They took me under immediately,” said Rosso, who lives on Fernwood Avenue in the Cardiff section of the township. “I had to sort of fight them to get behind them, and when I did, I just kept pushing them forward for as long as I could.”
But Rosso said the tide and the weight of the two children were too much for him, even if he said he is “in pretty good shape” as a result of a walking and gardening regimen that keeps him active.
He said he was in the water for about 10 minutes, doing his best to keep himself and the two children afloat. At one point, after pushing the children for what “seemed like an eternity out there,” he went under to see how deep he was. When he touched bottom and put his hand above him, his fingers were still under water.
“We were nowhere close to safety, and I did what I could for the kids, but I was also swimming for my own life as I was taking in water, too,” Rosso said.
More lifesavers came in the form of the Atlantic City Fire Department Water Rescue Unit, who arrived on a personal watercraft just when Rosso began thinking he and the children were in some serious trouble.
Fire Chief Dennis Brooks said his team responded to “tons of cellphone calls,” and a driver and rescue swimmer extended floating devices to the three troubled swimmers, who were all pulled to safety. CPR was administered to Rosso, and all three were taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus, for evaluation.
Rosso said doctors believed he was fine and would be released soon. On Tuesday morning, the hospital confirmed he was in good condition. He said he believed the two children, who are unidentified, were also stable, but neither Brooks nor Rosso could confirm their conditions. Brooks said he also understood the children would be fine.
“The doctors said I did pretty good for a 70-year-old,” Rosso said.
While Rosso, who was born and raised in Atlantic City, was being a bit modest about what he did, he was alarmed by the others who didn’t help the children.
“When I ran out, there was one guy within 25 yards of me that I passed on the way out,” Rosso said. “He kept yelling to the kids to swim, but they couldn’t. I told him to come help and he wouldn’t move. And as they got closer, he backed up. I couldn’t believe it.”
Brooks said he was not surprised.
“There were a lot of people on that beach and they didn’t want to get involved,” said Brooks, noting that the Atlantic City Police Department and the Beach Patrol assisted in the rescue. “This guy had a lot of courage. We award civilian awards every year, and he’s definitely in line for one of them for going above and beyond the call of an ordinary citizen.”
But Rosso didn’t seem concerned about any awards.
“It makes me happy if the kids are OK,” he said.
Reprinted with permission from the Press of Atlantic City.