A Medina man drowned Saturday evening after pushing a young girl to safety in the waters of Bay Village’s Huntington Beach.
Peter Radke, 43, was a father of four and attending a birthday party with his kids. He went missing around 6 p.m. after swimming out to assist the girl. He pushed her from rough waters, but never made it back himself. Rescue crews spent four hours searching before they located his body.
The Radke family provided News Channel 5 a statement:
Words cannot express the profound sorrow we feel over the death of our beloved Pete. He was dedicated to serving God and anyone in need. While we never expected to lose him so soon, we take comfort in knowing Pete’s final moments were spent saving the life of another. Peter Todd Radke, devoted husband and father of four, would have had it no other way.
This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2014.
What a hero!! R.I.P.Peter Todd Radke!!
ohmigosh, how sad, what a kind man!
I mean what a wonderful jester to save another human being, but wow now his wife and children are left alone, kind of selfish that he didn’t think about them when he went out there…where were the lifeguards, the woman’s family, very sad that this man had to die to be called a hero, because I am certain he was already a hero in his family’s eyes!
God bless your family. He is a hero. I’m so sorry for your loss. Moved to tears.
If you can pick the way you leave this world, I think this is the way you pick it – saving the life of another. I feel horrible for the family he left behind, but he left them with the greatest example of how to live that he possibly could.