Teen Peeks Out Window When Doing Homework – Seconds Later, He’s Racing Down the Stairs
By Christina Williams
Teen Peeks Out Window When Doing Homework – Seconds Later, He’s Racing Down the Stairs

Sometimes when you come home from school, you do your homework. For one Arizona teenager though, his plans after school came to a screeching halt when he heard his dad yell for him. Erkan Cakmak, the teen’s father, was working from home and heard a noise outside. He looked out the balcony door and saw a car in the lake below.

He yelled for his son Ethan Cakmak. Together, they raced down to the vehicle. “We both ran out to the lake. I made the 911 call,” Erkan said. While his father was on the phone, the 16-year-old made a sudden decision. “I realized that he needed help, he might drown. So, I ran outside, through the gate, took my shirt off, took everything out of my pockets and I jumped into the water,” Ethan said.

Click here to continue reading the article

Rescuers work near a submerged vehicle. Photo from Fox 10 video

Through ice-cold water, Ethan made his way to the vehicle. “I looked through the window and I see the guy with his chin on his chest bobbing up and down because he was breathing, which is good because that means he’s alive, but his eyes were closed, and he wasn’t responding to any banging on the window,” he said.

After being unable to break the car window, Ethan realized that the vehicle had managed to stop sinking, so he quickly swam back to shore. Just moments later, the Chandler fire and police departments arrived and were able to pull the man from the lake. He was taken to a nearby hospital.

Members of Chandler’s fire and police departments arrived on scene a short time later and rescued the man from the water. The man was then transported to a local hospital. Police are still looking into why the driver ran off the road and into the lake, but they suspect it might have been due to a medical emergency. As for Ethan and his dad, they said helping another person came naturally to them.

You have to do something right,” Erkan said.

Praise from others began pouring in after the story made the news. “I think that’s awesome. It goes to show that we’re out here looking out for each other. Not just us, PD and fire, but also our private citizens,” Chandler Police Sgt. Ricky Gonzales said. “That’s pretty cool.”

His school, Chandler Unified School District, gave praise to Ethan in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Ethan Cakmak perfectly embodied empathy, one of our Portrait of a Learner traits,” the district said. Ethan said that helping others is something everyone should do. But sadly, he knows that isn’t always the case.

“Online, I see videos every once in a while of similar things happening to people where people are in danger or in need. People just ignore what’s going on around them. I think as humans we need to be a community for each other and be there for each other when they need help. Help people when you can,” Ethan said. For a look at the amazing rescue, watch below.

Sources: Fox10 | People