School Board recognizes heroic Broward football team members

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (WSVN) -- The Broward School Board took time out their Tuesday meeting to bestow special recognition upon several Hollywood Hills High School football players for a heroic performance off the gridiron.

Head Coach Scott Barnwell and several of his players were returning home on July 12 from a camp near Tampa when they saw a man waving on the side of US 27. Upon further inspection, they discovered that a car had flipped and landed in a canal. Inside that vehicle was a family of three, which consisted of a baby and two of its grandparents. The fast-acting Good Samaritans pulled over, ripped open one of the car's doors, removed the child from its baby seat and proceeded to perform life-saving CPR on the young child.

"I told the boys, 'Listen, I'll get the baby, you get the adults,'" recalled Barnwell. "When we got there, I heard someone screaming, and when I jumped down the embankment I saw the baby in the car seat upside down in the water. At that point I just started pulling the seat belt, [which had] become embedded in the actual car seat, so we were having trouble getting it out. We just kept pulling and pulling, and we broke that free. I got the baby out."

While the elder female did succumb to unspecified complications, the players remained grateful for the two lives they were able to rescue. "It makes me feel good that we got to save people," said Alvin Arnold.

According to school board member Ann Murray, the teens' selfless act would draw praise from even the toughest-to-please sideline generals. "The coach would certainly give you kudos," she said via teleconference.

The Hollywood Police Department plans to honor the brave group with an award of valor on Wednesday.

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