Philly Man Dies Helping Child On PA Lake Thanksgiving Day

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia man died by drowning on Thanksgiving Day in the Poconos.

Miguel Lopez, 31, of Philadelphia, died after a kayak he and others, including children, were in overturned.

Lehigh Valley Live reports one of the children, who was outfitted with a life jacket, fell out and that Lopez was unable to flip the boat back over.

Lopez, who was not wearing a life jacket, was unable to swim to shore and his body was found by search and rescue teams later that day, according to the Pocono Record.

All children made it safely back to shore, Action News reports.

Lopez's wife Maria Munoz said her husband "left this Earth saving a life."

He left this Earth a fighter," she said on a GoFundMe campaign setup to support their family. "He left this Earth a warrior."

"We met when he was 20 and I was one year younger," she wrote. "He became a father at 19. He didn’t want to follow the footsteps of many he saw in the streets of Philadelphia. He worked and went to school and earned an associates degree in criminal justice at age 20. He loved his 12 years old daughter dearly and always provided for her. He was a hard worker and bought his first house at 24. We got married at 25 and built a life and loved each other to the end. We grew up together."

See here to contribute to the GoFundMe campaign.