Former DeKalb Co. Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Bill Smith died Sunday night after he went into the water to save three swimmers in distress in Fort Morgan, Ala.
Smith, who currently serves as a Baldwin Co. sheriff's deputy was one of two deputies patrolling the area when they spotted the swimmers in trouble in the Gulf of Mexico.
According to our sister station WALA in Mobile, Deputy Smith and Deputy Sydney Wentworth were called to the area of Dune Drive in Fort Morgan around 6 p.m. Sunday after a report of a swimmer in distress. The sheriff's office said Wentworth went into the Gulf to rescue a woman who was struggling to stay above the water.
Sheriff Mack said a beach attendant noticed the swimmer and Wentworth in the water and rushed in to help, not realizing the deputy was rescuing the swimmer.