Sid Hultquist held back tears as he embraced Louis “Rooster” Abeita Jr., the “little 4-year-old boy” he helped save after Abeita's mother found his lifeless body floating in a backyard swimming pool nearly 34 years ago.
Hultquist, an assistant fire chief for the Barstow Fire Department, reunited with Abeita, now 37, on Monday during an informal celebration inside the fire district's headquarters on Barstow Road.
“This is the young man who impacted my life over 33 years ago,” Hultquist told Abeita’s family, friends and a group of firefighters who gathered for the event.
Standing next to Medic Engine 361, Hultquist held the station’s logbook and pointed to the drowning call on Date Avenue. It was recorded Jan. 29, 1987. The call and date, Hultquist said, are “permanently engraved” on his heart and mind. They serve as constant reminders as to why he became a first responder.