SAN JOSE — The 35-year-old San Jose man who drowned Sunday after rescuing his two children and four other kids from fast-moving waters of Coyote Creek has been identified by the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office as Saul Garcia.
On a GoFundMe page set up for Garcia’s family, his friends and relatives said Garcia “showed no fear going into the water and saving all 6 of the children.”
The incident occurred around 2 p.m. in Coyote Creek behind the Parkway Lakes Morgan Hill RV Park on Ogier Avenue between Highway 101 and Old Monterey Road.
Several kids were playing in the water when they got into trouble, according to Sgt. Rich Glennon of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. Garcia and other adults went in to help the kids, and Garcia never made it out.
Glennon said Garcia’s body was found at 6:20 p.m. Sunday in about 15 feet of water. Glennon said the area where the kids were playing is knee deep near the shore and then makes a sudden drop.
“In that area, we have a fairly sharp current, and our team that went in found it to be quite aggressive and dangerous,” Van Elgort said, asking the public to exercise extra caution when swimming this summer. “I don’t remember those creeks flowing that strongly since maybe the ’80s.”
