Teens honored for lifesaving efforts in Forsyth

Saturday, Aug. 30 was a strange day for 22-year-old Suwanee resident Angelo Santiago.
It was his brother's birthday, and their friends were having a party at Sawnee Campground on Lake Lanier. Santiago had been stressed recently, so he hadn't been eating or sleeping. He'd also recently sprained his ankle, and that certainly wasn't helping things.

So when a friend, Max Soubannarath, asked if he wanted to go swimming, Santiago thought it might be a good way to get some fresh air and relieve stress.

Unfortunately, his body didn't agree.

"Once I got into the water, my body just wouldn't function," he said. "I was paralyzed."

Luckily for them both, a pontoon boat full of local teens happened by and through team work and quick, clear-headed thinking, the youths pulled everyone to safety.

Those four teens - brothers Mitchell, 17, and Dylan Hall, 14, Joey Hinkle and Amanda Addington, both 17 - were honored Nov. 5 by Sheriff Ted Paxton.

He said if it weren't for the decisiveness of the youths, police likely would have added two more names to the deadly tally of six drownings in the drought ravaged lake.

"We're honoring their heroic efforts," he said. "It's good you knew that when somebody needs help, you step up, no hesitation."

For their efforts, the teens received plaques and the congratulations of the Sheriff's Office.

Hinkle, a senior at Creekview High School in Cherokee County, said the teens were out on the lake looking for someplace fun to swim and hang out before meeting with Laurie Hall, Mitchell and Dylan's mother, at a nearby cove. As Addington drove by, they could hear some cries for help — Santiago had slipped below the water, so Soubannarath pulled him onto his shoulders and was struggling to keep them both afloat.

"I was thinking, 'Just get over there,'" said Addington, a Woodstock resident who attends Polaris Night School.

Hinkle said it all happened so fast.

"We just happened to be right there. Mitchell said to grab the life preserver and toss it to [Max and Angelo]," he said. "I swam out and helped pull them to shore."

Mitchell Hall and Hinkle both swam out, while Dylan went on the shore, helped dock the boat and pulled everyone to land.

"My mom used to be a lifeguard, said the older Hall, a senior at Sequoyah High School, also in Cherokee County. "I just immediately knew what to do."

When it was said and done, it was a scary, but "pretty great" experience for the friends, who have known each other since middle school, said Addington.

Santiago was humbled by the whole experience, and seemed to have a tough time taking it all in surrounded by the teens, their families, a room full of deputies and with media cameras snapping and rolling.

It makes sense, since Santiago said a difference of three or four seconds could have meant the death of himself and his heroic friend who struggled to keep them both alive long enough for help to arrive.

"Without you guys, I wouldn't be here today," he said. "I'm so happy we saw you guys. I really thought I was gone - you guys are real heroes."
- www.northfulton.com

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