MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A 17-year-old boy died Wednesday, two days after he rescued a 9-year-old boy and the child's mother from drowning in the waters off Virginia Key, a spokesperson with Jackson Memorial Hospital confirmed to Local10.com.
His family has been left proud and inconsolable.
Cristian Burgos, who was a senior and soccer player at Booker T. Washington Senior High School, got caught in the strong rip currents Monday as he rescued the mother and son, and had to be pulled to shore himself.
"I'm not surprised at all that he did that because, you know, he's that kind of person," Burgos’ cousin, Katherine Zamora, said.
Firefighters performed CPR on the teen, who was then taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition. The mother and child were also taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Montez's mother said she feels indebted to Burgos.
"As a teacher, to lose a student and then to see the reaction of all the other students too, it's been devastating," Burgos' teacher, Nelson Fernandez, told Local 10 News.
Teachers and classmates who went to the hospital with messages of encouragement are now in mourning and united by their fond memories of the teen.
"Because he was friends to many students, and they're all there sitting together consoling each other and looking at what they can do now to move forward to help each other and to help the family," Burgos' soccer coach, Veronique Toussaint, said.
According to a GoFundMe page created this week to help with Burgos' medical bills, the teen's mother is a single mom and his father was recently deported to Nicaragua.
The GoFundMe page stated that doctors said the teen only had a 2 percent chance of surviving.