Man who doesn’t know how to swim rescues boy in hotel pool
Original Publication Date: March 3, 2017 1:30AM
Publication Updated: April 26, 2025 2:53PM
FAIRFIELD, N.J. – Police say a Pennsylvania man who doesn’t know how to swim jumped into the deep end of a pool at a New Jersey hotel and rescued a boy from drowning.
Fairfield police say a Paterson woman and a male companion were in the pool at the La Quinta Inn on Thursday with her five children, who range in age from 1 to 9. Police say none knew how to swim, and the 9-year-old went under water.
The companion ran to the front desk for help. Police say 37-year-old Randolph Tajada-Perez, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, was checking in. Tajada-Perez, who doesn’t know how to swim, jumped into the pool and after several attempts reached the child.
The boy is in stable condition.
Police are calling Tajada-Perez a “hero guest.”
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This story has been revised to correct the spelling of Hazleton.
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