The Coast Guard petty officer who saved singer Sean Kingston after his jet ski crash in Miami Beach last May is being honored with a medal for his actions Tuesday.
Petty Officer 3rd Class John Rivera received the Silver Lifesaving Medal award during a ceremony at the Coast Guard Air Station Miami in Opa Locka.
Rivera was off duty and on his personal boat on May 29 when he saw Kingston hit the bridge connecting Palm Island with the MacArthur Causeway and start to go under water.
Coast Guard officials say Rivera immediately jumped in and kept Kingston afloat until additional help arrived.
Kingston, 22, was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition but recovered and was released a few weeks later.
Rivera said that when he found out it was Kingston he saved, he thought it was "pretty cool."
"Someone was drowning and he needed help," said Rivera, who added that being honored "was the last thing on my mind."
The two have since reunited and keep in touch, Rivera said.
The Silver Lifesaving Medal is awarded by the Commandant of the Coast Guard to any person who rescues, or endeavors to rescue, any other person from drowning, shipwreck, or other peril of water.
