(AP/The Huffington Post) -- A Virginia father who made two rescues in two days is being honored by the St. Petersburg Fire Department for his lifesaving actions.
Last week, Gus Hertz from Roanoke, Va., saved the life of two strangers after their ultralight plane crashed into the water in St. Petersburg, Fla. Hertz had been fishing in his boat when he saw the plane having problems.
"I thought, 'Oh, no, I can’t believe this is happening,'” Hertz, 37, told the Tampa Bay Times. "I knew he was going to crash before he even went into the water.”
As the ultralight plummeted down, Hertz quickly navigated his boat over to the scene -- rescuing the pilot, 74-year-old Rodney Tyoe, and his female passenger. Both sustained minor injuries but are doing well.
Incredibly, this wasn't Hertz's first rescue of the week.
Just the day before, Hertz had saved a trapped man from a partially-submerged car in the waters around St. Petersburg after the man veered off the road and went over a seawall. It is believed that the 63-year-old man had suffered a diabetic shock.
According to WTSP 10 News, Hertz saw the accident from his condo window and quickly ran out to help. Hertz and another bystander successfully pulled the man to safety. He has since recovered.
“Two days, two heroic saves,” said Lt. Joel Granata, spokesman for St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue. “That’s unbelievable.”
Granata announced that the city's mayor and fire chief will honor Hertz during a ceremony this week.
Juanita Baker, daughter of the ultralight's pilot, called Hertz "a guardian angel."
“Bless his heart. He seems to be in the right place at the right time,” Baker told Tampa Bay Online. “Tell him: 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.’”
But Hertz, a father of four, has staunchly refused all the attention and profusions of thanks.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Hertz quickly left the scenes of both rescues before news media had a chance to catch up with him -- and he has credited "dumb luck" as the reason behind his heroism.
"He said he's just glad to help, he's down here on vacation for the summer, he barely took a thank you and just went ahead and left," Granata told Bay News 9.
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