By Richard Bonnin

The water temperature hovered near 60 degrees on a chilly Saturday morning on Feb. 23 as 420 sailboats were maneuvering for the start of the day’s fourth collegiate sailing team-racing regatta hosted by Texas A&M University at Galveston.

Photo by Marsha Miller

Members of the UT Sailing Team practice on Lake Travis. Shown are (left to right) Spencer Ogden, Henry May, Jeannie Nguyen, Mike Curtin and Jenn Cobb.

The University of Texas at Austin students, UT Sailing Team President Spencer Ogden, a senior from Stamford, Conn.; Mike Curtin, a junior from Kingwood, Texas; Sarah Lakhani, a freshman from Corpus Christi; and Varun Idnani, a freshman from Mumbai, India, were sailing out Offatt’s Bayou in Galveston Bay when the crisis arose. The quick response of these students and their counterparts at Texas A&M saved lives that day, providing an unforgettable example of the true meaning of teamwork.

Before the fourth race could begin, a minivan carrying six people drove at high speed off a dead-end road, flew about 80 feet over the water and sank at a depth of about 12-13 feet. The van landed within 30 feet of the starting line, submerging almost immediately. After about 40 seconds, the driver, Jose Arnulfo Rodgriguez, popped out of the water and was pulled into a boat by nearby students.

In learning that there were remaining occupants in the van, participants from the regatta yelled to shore for someone to call 911 and then swam in the frigid water to the van, making repeated dives in an effort to rescue the people.

The doors of the van were locked and the windows rolled up. The rescuers called for rocks from shore to smash the windows open and other students began swimming the rocks out to the site. An anchor from the regatta motorboat also was used to smash windows.

In the 10 minutes the van was submerged, the participants successfully rescued the five remaining unconscious occupants, brought them ashore and administered first aid/CPR.

Photo by Marsha Miller

During a recent collegiate sailing team-racing regatta, Ogden, team president, dived into the frigid waters of Galveston Bay to break the window of a submerged van, helping to rescue a family in danger of drowning.

The driver of the van remains jailed on attempted capital murder charges.

Texas A&M at Galveston former student Luckey Reed had difficulty getting the baby out of the car seat. He stayed underwater for two minutes until he was able to undo the car seat belt and bring her to the surface. Many of the rescuers received significant lacerations, although no one was seriously injured. The two sailors who were most severely cut by the broken glass will make full recoveries. “The events of that Saturday were not pretty to see,” Lakhani said. “However, had we not been there, it would have been a tragedy. Probably most amazing is that the 7-month-old baby who was pulled out last was proclaimed dead on arrival at the hospital. But when a nurse went over to kiss the baby's head, she noticed it breathe, and it was revived. I just could not believe what we had actually seen. It's one of those things you only expect to see in the news.”

Ogden, who dove in the water during the rescue effort, said he tried to focus on the tasks at hand and not on the people involved in the incident.

“For me it was a series of tasks — find out where the people were, break into the car, undo seatbelts, etc.,” he said. “I didn't feel like I was saving lives. The one moment things got personal was when the first victim was pulled up. She was very near me, and I have never seen a drowning victim, blue lips and all. That made me realize these were people. But the next task, breaking the window was at hand, so I had to forget that.”

In describing the events that unfolded, Odgen said, “The car came speeding off the shore and sank before any of us realized what had happened. When the driver came to the surface, everything became reality.

“Most of us jumped in the water when we heard there were more people in the car. I found the car by some bubbles which were coming to the surface. Through a couple of dives, I was able to find out that the driver’s seat was empty. Then I grabbed the arm of the passenger, but I couldn't get to the seatbelt. I wasn't in a good position to get to her ( I was on the driver’s side), so I let others who were diving through the windshield handle her.

“By this time, people had brought a rock from shore because they heard the doors were locked. After someone else tried, I was given the rock and broke the back right window. I think I cut my arm on the broken glass. I noticed the cut when I surfaced. When I saw how bad the cut was, I swam to shore.”

Photo by Marsha Miller

A fierce competition between collegiate rivals turned into a shining example of teamwork when students, including members of the UT Sailing Team, came to the rescue of a drowning family.

“This is truly an amazing act of heroism and bravery, one in which (the students) selflessly risked their own safety to help save the lives of others,” he said. “I speak for the entire University of Texas at Austin community in saying that we are extremely proud of them.”

The Texas A&M University at Galveston Sailing Team also praised the rescue efforts of the members of The University of Texas at Austin and the Texas A&M University at College Station sailing teams.

Texas A&M University at Galveston sailing team captain and Coast Guard reservist Jeff Daigle said, “Everyone just pitched in. We all found something to do and did it. No one sat down and said, ‘OK, you do this, and you do that.’ Everyone just jumped in. The teamwork of everyone involved amazes me.”

On March 21, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents recognized Ogden and others involved in the rescue effort with a resolution praising their bravery. People Magazine interviewed Ogden, among others who dove in the water, for a special issue titled "Heroes Among Us" scheduled for publication in the fall.

“I feel like people are more impressed than they should be, and that the attention is more than is deserved,” Ogden said. “With so many people involved and helping, I don't feel heroic. I am glad my friends and family are proud of me. Those are the opinions that matter.”

Capt. Jeff Smith, a safety officer in Galveston, said, “These people are alive because of the reaction of these students. We’ve been involved in several rescues. In a rescue such as this, it is not uncommon to lose one of our rescue workers due to the water temperature, depth and the murky condition of the water. It’s very easy to get disoriented down there.

"I feel that if it had been any other group of college students, these people would not be alive today. These are sailors and mariners, and they spend their lives in and around the water. I’m amazed at what they did.”

Teri Fowlé of Texas A&M University at Galveston contributed to this article.