SUNRISE, FLA. (WSVN) - The mother of a teenager who lost his life while trying to save a crash victim in Sunrise described her son as a gifted student who lived life to the fullest.
Speaking with 7News on Thursday, Sarah Perry, said her son, Aden Perry, was a young man in a hurry.
“Doctors actually called him a miracle baby. He was a preemie, and he never waited for anything. He was in a rush to get here,” she said.
The 17-year-old seemed determined to squeeze what he could out of every moment. He was a top student at Western High School in Davie, as well as a piano player who aspired to become a neurosurgeon.
The teen did not hesitate when he took a walk with his mother on Tuesday night and saw a car drive into a lake in their neighborhood, along the 1200 block of Silver Palm Boulevard.
“We were walking, actually having one of those great mom and son moments. We usually had our walk and talks when we would talk about anything — good, bad or ugly — and that was what we did,” said Sarah. “Next thing we know, we saw a car hit the tree and go flying into the lake. Immediately we started running, my son grabbed the phone and called 911, handed me the phone, so I could actually talk to them. He took the dog from me and kept running toward where the lake was.”
Moments later, Sarah said, her son dove into the lake.
“I looked, and I turned around. My son had tied the dog up to the pole, and he jumped in the water without even thinking,” she said. “The man who went in, he was screaming for help, and my son answered his call and just without thinking jumped in, and I was screaming, and I wasn’t able to jump in because I can’t swim. I saw his face, I heard his voice. It was ear-piercing. These are sounds I will never forget.”
Police said the young driver, 18-year-old Venkata Sai Krishnamurthy, did not survive the crash. Rescue crews pulled Aden out of the water and took him to the hospital, where he died.
Sarah said she still does not know exactly what happened and why Aden didn’t make it.
“Part of me died in that lake with my son,” she said.
But true to form, she said, Aden packed a lot into his last two weeks. He won a slew of academic awards for physics, calculus and English literature. He was also fitted for his first real suit and went to see the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra with his father.
Sarah said her son’s sense of compassion was nothing new.
“He would tutor kids at school. He was always helping other people, helping my niece, with her school, anybody he could. That’s who he was,” she said.
Aden’s family said he was so selfless that when he learned he was going to be inducted into the National Honor Society, he kept it to himself because it was during his stepbrother’s prom weekend, and didn’t want to take the spotlight away from his stepbrother.
“It’s why it’s so hard that this is the end of his story, but in some ways, perhaps this is why it was supposed to be, because maybe his act of heroism, what he did, will inspire other people to be kind and do things for other people,” said Sarah.
Aden’s family said their thoughts and prayers are with Krishnamurthy’s loved ones.
Friday evening, a makeshift memorial for Aden located alongside the lake continued to grow.
Sarah has created a GoFundMe page for Aden with the goal of starting a scholarship fund at Western High School in his name. If you would like to make a donation, click here.
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