It's said that a person's final moments highlights their character and the type of person they were. A heroic father used quick thinking to save his young son from a doomed capsizing boat. Sadly, he was unable to help himself in the process.
13-year-old Juladi 'Jude' Khammoungkhoune was on a fishing trip with his dad, uncle, and three other family members. They were crabbing on Bodega Bay in California on November 2. That's when rough waters caused the boat to begin capsizing. The entire family found themselves in the cold water.
"The boat couldn't handle it because the waves were pretty massive," Khammoungkhoune told Fox affiliate KTVU. "They were really massive."
Passengers tried to grab life jackets or hang onto the side of the boat. Khammoungkhoune's dad, Prasong, quickly ordered his son to jump inside of the boat's large cooler. It's a decision that saved his life. The rest of the family perished on the capsizing boat including the boy's father. Khammoungkhoune said his dad held onto the side of the coole rfor as long a he could. But eventually he went under the water.
Capsizing Boat
"I was crying and yelling out for my dad, so I could hear him say something again," Khammoungkhoune recalled. "What was going through my mind is if I was going to make it, see my family ever again."
The boy ended up drifting at sea for hourse in the cooler. Eventually, he managed to reach shore far away from the capsizing boat.
"I just had to hang on really tightly and let the waves get inside the cooler and push me to the shore," he shared. "And it was really cold and I was tired, so I just had to sleep on my life jacket and make do, so I could live."
The boy then hiked up the road and called for emergency services.
"It's pretty sad without him," Khammoungkhoune said of his father. The rest of his family sadly perished in the boat capsizing.
Rescue crews searched for the missing boaters but they have so far only recovered the body of one teenager, Khammoungkhoune's cousin.
The family set up a GoFundMe following the tragedy.
"He was a rock in our lives, raising us with love, laughter, and guidance," they wrote. "Now, we're suddenly standing in his place, caring for his wife—our aunt—and his three young children."
