WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A man who died trying to save a woman from drowning in Intracoastal Waterway is being called a hero by those who knew him.
West Palm Beach police spokesman Mike Jachles identified the man as Jason Irwin, 55, originally from Orchard Park, New York. Police said he lived among the homeless at Currie Park.
On Wednesday night, Jachles said a woman, who also lives in Currie Park fell into the water, when the good Samaritan dove in and tried to rescue her. She made it to shore, however, Irwin did not.
“It took his life to try to save another life,” Issac Hollins, a homeless man who also lives in Currie Park, said. “He was like the handy man of the park. When something went wrong with bicycles, anything, he could fix it.”
Police arrived on scene and divers searched the waters for the missing man trying to find him.
“The search went well into the early morning hours Thursday, and then was called off with no results,” Jachles said.
On Thanksgiving Day, police said a maintenance worker at a home on Flagler Drive just north of the park, discovered the man’s body in the lagoon just offshore.
“We’re taking it hard now,” Hollins said. “We miss him. We’re used to seeing him every day. He was one of my best friends.”
Jachles said that Irwin lived in Florida for the last 10 years. He said his family was devastated when they heard the news, but they said that’s the kind of guy he was.
Meanwhile, people living in the encampment said Currie Park will not be the same without him. They hope Irwin is remembered as selfless, and not homeless.
