When an emergency situation happens in the movies, we all think that we'd be the one to jump in and save someone who is in trouble. The kid trapped in a burning building, a person who is hurt in a car accident, someone having a medical issue, etc. -- we all believe we'd be the one to step up and save the day.

In practice, that's not always the case. We're not all the heroes we like to think we would be.

For one Coralville man, it was the case this weekend. He stepped up to save an 8-year-old child from drowning in the Iowa River in Johnson County and unfortunately lost his life in the process.

Bystanders in the area told KCRG that "the child went into the river and struggled. The adult male swam into the river and attempted to save the child. A kayaker was able to help, saving the child from the river. But the man sank below the water. The kayaker and another person searched for the man, but couldn’t find him."

Search and rescue crews found the man's body in the water roughly an hour later.

The individual who attempted to save the child was identified as 42-year-old from Coralville, Wegayewu Faris. KCRG added that "Faris and the rescued child are not related and were visiting the park with separate families."

A later report said that Faris and the kayaker both aided in saving the boy. When the boy was brought to shore, witnesses performed CPR and he was later taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals.

Faris was a custodian at Iowa City High School. Principal of Iowa City High, John Bacon shared the following sentiment of him on Twitter yesterday:

A kind, amazing person. He drowned saving the life of a young child. A hero.

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