VISALIA, Calif. (FOX26) — It’s been nearly a year since a Visalia man drowned saving a man and his 7-year-old daughter from the Kaweah River below Three Rivers.
Now the drowning victim’s mother is reaching out hoping to meet with the two people her son saved.
Last April Jaime Espinoza made a split-second decision that saved two people but cost him his life.
A woman approached him at Slick Rock on the Kaweah River and pleaded with him to save her husband and daughter.
He jumped in the river and got the two to safety but Jaime disappeared in the swift-moving water.
As the first anniversary of Jaime’s death nears, his mother Marlene Guzman wants to meet the other family.
Her daughter Alex Romero is the family spokesperson. “I think she wants that closure. She feels like this is what she needs to fully heal. Just to see whose life he gave his for,” said Romero.
Jaime’s sister says her brother was the wild child of the family.
He loved his daughter and being surrounded by his family.
Jaime enjoyed the outdoors and was studying to be an arborist.
Nearly a year after his drowning Romero believes a meeting with the two families could help everyone move forward.
“She just wants to offer that support,” said Romero. “She also feels like that’s a lot to bear for them.”
Romero hopes the two sides finally connect. She’s confident it will give her mother inner peace.
The celebration of life for Jaime Espinoza will be held on Monday, April 29th at the Visalia Veterans Memorial Building beginning at 3:00 p.m.