North Carolina man drowns after helping boy in water

ZEBULON, N.C. – A North Carolina man has drowned after he jumped into the water and was able to push an 8-year-old boy close enough to a riverbank to be rescued.

News outlets reported 36-year-old Jeremie Dale Earp of Raleigh was at a park in Zebulon on Sunday evening when he noticed the boy was having trouble.

Police say Earp managed to move the boy close enough to the river bank that someone pulled the youngster to safety.

Police say Earp then had trouble and went under the surface. It took several minutes before others at the park got him ashore. The rescuers, police and emergency medical personnel tried for about an hour to revive Earp before he was pronounced dead.