‘Aden Was My Hero': Final Farewell for Teen Who Died Trying to Save Drowning Driver

A funeral was held Monday for Aden Perry, the 17-year-old boy who died trying to save a drowning driver in Sunrise.

The service was held inside a Plantation church where his mother, father and stepmother all spoke about Perry's life and shared more about the night he died.

"He was so full of life, passion and good intentions at that moment," said Perry’s mother who was with him during his final moments.

The two were on a walk when a car plunged into a nearby lake and Perry jumped in the water to help the 18-year-old driver, Venkata Krishnamurthy, but both teens died.

"Aden was my hero every day, and not just because of his last act," said his mother. "He did so many good things in his life and I was just so proud of him."

His instinct to act courageously and be selfless is something his parents say was part of his personality.

"They heard the young man screaming, they heard him calling out for help, and Aden answered that call for help," said his father, Alan Perry.

Perry’s father says the teen dialed 9-1-1, then passed his phone to his mother before diving in.

He says Perry hit his forehead on a rock that was sitting about a foot below the surface and died on impact.

"So there was no pain, he did not drown, he was not worried, he was not scared. It was an immediate transition from what he was supposed to do to go to heaven," said his father. "He did the right thing but it had a bad outcome."

Perry was a junior at Western High School, described by family and friends as kind-hearted, courageous, and a person who achieved great academic success.

The Aden Perry Good Samaritan Scholarship fund has been set up in his honor to provide educational support to students interested in medicine or science.

Krishnamurthy, the 18-year-old driver who drowned, will also have a scholarship created in his honor that will support students in low-income families with excellence in basketball.