A retired US Navy fighter pilot and father died while saving his two young sons from an electrified fountain, WPBF reported Tuesday.
Nate Davenport, 45, was spending a Sunday afternoon with his family at Harbourside Place shopping and dining complex in Jupiter, Florida. At least two of Davenport’s children entered a fountain located there, despite signs warning against swimming and climbing. The children, aged eight and 11, were playing when they began screaming about being shocked, according to WPBF.
Davenport rushed to their rescue, managing to pull his sons to safety but was electrocuted in the process. He was taken to Jupiter Medical Center, where he later died without regaining consciousness, according to the New York Post.
Hero ex-fighter pilot dad dies by electrocution saving sons from faulty water fountain https://t.co/9qsTkubxqx pic.twitter.com/8iU8BfeDic
— New York Post (@nypost) October 25, 2023
“He took a hit for his kids. We had 45 years with him. God blessed us with him. He’s an amazing man,” Mary Davenport, the man’s mother, told WPBF.
The incident left two adults and three children injured, including Davenport’s sons who were admitted to St. Mary’s Medical Center, per the New York Post. (RELATED: Father Of Four Rushes Into Water To Save Son From Rip Current, Dies: REPORT)
As of Wednesday, the exact cause of the deadly electrocution remained unclear, and local authorities, along with Harbourside Place and Florida Power & Light, were investigating the incident, the outlet noted.
Davenport was a war veteran who served as a fighter pilot in the Iraq War. After retiring from the service in 2008, he took over as president of RGD Consulting Engineers. He leaves behind a wife and four children, the New York Post reported.
Harbourside Place CEO, Nick Mastroianni, expressed his condolences and called the incident a “tragedy,” the report says.