Every single police officer deserves awards and medals for the hard work they put into keeping us all safe. And many of them make custom police challenge coins to hand out in their unit to show their solidarity. But, unfortunately, not everyone can get a special award is recognized for their efforts unless it’s an extreme circumstance. And this is why one member of the Athens police force has been presented with a very special award.
Athens Police Sergeant Jason Bosher was presented the department’s Life Saving Award during Monday night’s Athens City Council meeting for his actions during a rescue in May.
Bosher received the award for truly heroic actions while saving a family of five from flood waters.
Police Chief Buddy Hill also praised Holt Wrecker, the Payne Springs VFD and the Texas Department of Public Safety for their parts in the rescue.
The following is the narrative read to the City Council by Hill Monday night:
The second weekend in May of 2015 was possibly one of the wettest weekends that our county has ever seen. Strong storms moved through the area that dumped close to 10 inches of rain in a short amount of time. Low lying areas were flooded with racing water; highways and streets were washed away; trees were uprooted from the soggy soil.
First responders were barely able to keep up with the call volume. Homes were taking on water, power was out to a large portion of town, and vehicles were stranded – some of which were completely submerged.
Just after midnight on May 11, a call came in reporting someone screaming for help near the west edge of town. Since the call was close to the city limits, several different agencies responded to the area in an attempt to locate the source and provide assistance. Athens Police Sergeant Jason Bosher arrived a short time later, but was initially unable to locate anyone. After navigating several flooded areas, Sergeant Bosher was able to hear the calls for help which sounded to be coming from County Road 1507, near the Walnut Creek crossing.
On most days, this area is a quiet county road through pasture land with a slow, shallow creek running under an old wooden bridge. This night was starkly different; the storm surge had caused the creek to come out of its banks by several vertical feet, pastures and fences were completely covered in water; trees and debris rushed by. The area was pitch black and a steady sheet of rainfall made visibility even more difficult.
Approximately 500 feet from the edge of the water, Sergeant Bosher saw what appeared to be a vehicle that had been washed off the road near the bridge. He was able to determine that the calls for help were coming from the area of the vehicle. With little time to spare, Sergeant Bosher and a Texas Highway Patrol trooper waded into the water to try and reach the vehicle’s occupants. The closer the officers got to the car, the deeper the water became. As they reached a point approximately 100 feet from the vehicle, the water had reached chest-level and the strong currents prevented them from going further. Sergeant Bosher anchored himself to a fence post so that he could maintain his sight of the vehicle, communicate with and assure the victims that help was on the way, and help coordinate the rescue efforts of the other first responders.
Over the two hours that followed, a systematic swift water rescue was executed that saved a mother and her four children, ranging in ages from 12 years to 10 months old, from their mostly submerged vehicle. This operation was a collaborative effort between several different agencies that resulted in saving the lives of five people.
Had it not been for Sergeant Bosher’s bold, decisive, and selfless actions, it is likely that all of the occupants of the vehicle would have perished. Sergeant Boshers is commended for his professionalism and the superior performance of his duties in this incident. I now present Sergeant Bosher with the Department’s Life Saving Award that he most definitely earned.