Royal Oak HS Student Remembered As Hero In Drowning Rescue

ROYAL OAK, MI — A Royal Oak High School freshman was remembered as a hero after he died over the holiday break trying to save a person from drowning, school officials said.

Paul Sanders, 15, died on Jan. 4 in a hospital after officials pulled him and two others from a frozen pond near a residential area on the 3700 block of Stoneleigh Drive in Lansing on Dec. 31, officials said.

"Although this is a sad time, Paul’s family wants you to know that Paul passed away as a hero," Royal Oak Principal Sharida Lewis said in a letter addressed to families. "Paul passed away as a hero trying to save someone else’s life after falling into a pond."

Firefighters rescued two people from the pond before learning a third person was underwater, officials said. Paul was eventually pulled from the pond and resuscitated after being underwater for 40 minutes, officials said.

He was listed in critical condition and taken to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, where he died four days later from the effects of drowning, according to the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s office.

One of the people pulled from the pond was Paul's brother, Romal, who tried rescuing his brother, officials said. Romal, a sophomore at Royal Oak High School, was also hailed as a hero by Lewis.

"Romal jumped into the situation and fought for Paul’s life, which allowed Paul to be taken to the hospital in time for doctors to assist him," Lewis said.

Jessica Sanders, Paul and Romal's mother, created a GoFundMe page, which raised over $18,800 as of Friday morning.

"His smile was always the brightest in any room. His joy was unshakeable," Sanders wrote on the page. "He was selfless, understood the value of giving one’s best efforts and always supported others when they needed it."

While most of the money will go toward Paul’s memorial, Sanders said some of it will also be used to expand access to organized sports training for underprivileged kids.

Grief counselors, social workers and psychologists were available at Royal Oak High School for students, staff and families, school officials said.

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