Following the tragic news that a man died following a reported fight at an NFL game, it has been revealed that he once saved a young girl from drowning.
As previously reported, 53-year-old Dale Mooney, a father of two from New Hampshire, sadly lost his life after he was allegedly punched during a game between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins.
Eyewitness Joey Kilmartin recounted the harrowing events, stating that a Dolphins fan had allegedly punched Mooney in the face, rendering him unconscious. Mooney's condition was initially attributed to an "apparent medical event."
"The Dolphins fan walks over and clearly punches him in the face," Kilmartin described to MassLive. "[He] gets knocked out, and you can tell right away he's not OK."
Kilmartin further explained that he had seen Mooney approach a group of fans on the 300-level of the stadium during the game's closing moments. "He basically grabbed another fan," Kilmartin shared.
"They started tussling around for a few minutes. At one point, another fan walked over. He punched him... and the man just went out. It was pretty hard to watch," Kilmartin said per WCVB.
Following Mooney's tragic passing, a story from 2009 has reemerged when he saved a child in distress at Hampton Beach.
As reported by SeaCoastOnline at the time, Mooney vividly recalled the perilous situation he encountered, saying: "The waves were slamming over her and she couldn’t even stay on her feet. She kept falling in between the rocks, trying to keep her head above water."
The girl had become trapped among the rocks while attempting to retrieve her boogie board as the tide rose and strong winds reached gusts of up to 30 mph.
Despite the danger and fear, Mooney, then 39 years old, couldn't turn away from the child who was a complete stranger to him.
He described the intense moments, stating: "Once I made eye contact with her, I couldn’t turn back. As the two or three big waves came up, I told her, 'Hold your breath, hold your breath.' And then boom, the wave would hit us. Then we’d fight to stand up and she tried to stand up. She was slipping and sliding."
Mooney devised a daring plan during a brief lull in the crashing waves. He instructed the girl to jump onto his shoulders, and together, they braved the next series of waves. Eventually, Mooney successfully reached the shore with the young girl in tow.
Witnesses on the beach applauded Mooney's rescue effort. Mooney recalled the moment, saying: "I had a few people come up to me as I came out to tell me, 'That was one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen' and whatnot. So I felt pretty good about it."
Remarkably, Mooney never learned the child's name, but she expressed her heartfelt thanks to him before reuniting with her family.
Sadly, roughly 14 years later, Mooney's family is now grieving his death following the alleged altercation at the Gilette stadium.
A GoFundMe page has been set up in order to support his family.
Our thoughts continue to be with Mooney's loved ones during this difficult time.
