Family of man, 20, who died saving friend's life in River Soar want him to be remembered as a 'hero'

ITV Central's Nancy Cole meets the family and friends of Daniels Milzarijs, who died while saving a friend in the River Soar

The family of a man from Rugby who drowned in the River Soar in Loughborough say they want people to know he died a hero.

Daniels Milzarijs's family say he died after rescuing a friend who could not swim, in part of the river off Meadow Lane last Tuesday evening (30 July). His body was discovered the following day.

"He will always be a hero"

Daniels' sister, Justine Jerosenko, said: "One of our friends, he couldn't swim. So my brother, without hesitation, jumped in and put the boy on his back, and pushed his feet.

"But while doing so, he stepped back into a deep bit and the current dragged him away.

"Then one of my friends jumped in and all he felt was my brother's hand sliding off his feet into the water and then no one saw him, no one heard from him."

  • Daniels' sister Justine says she is "so proud of what he's done"

She continued: "He's a hero. He will always be a hero. And that's what we want people to know him as.

"We want him to be known as a hero, not just someone that's gone under.

"We want him to be known as someone that's gone in to save another person's life without hesitation knowing that he was risking his own life."

"Somebody like that can't be replaced."

Flowers and gifts have been left in tribute on the banks of the river. Credit: ITV News Central

Those who knew Daniels say his determination to save someone else shows the kind of caring man he was.

Adam Burdett, a friend of Daniels', said: "The acts that we saw here just show how much he helped and how much he was a selfless soul.

"He just wanted to help people.

"As much as life gave him troubles, he just wanted to give back to people. Somebody like that can't be replaced."

A fundraiser, which was set up to help pay for funeral costs, has raised more than £3000.

Daniels' friends and family hope his story will warn others of the dangers of fast currents in bodies of water like the River Soar.

His friend Jake Cabral said: "You never know how quickly things can go wrong. That picture on the tree was taken about 40 minutes before, he was so happy. You just never know.

"We just want to raise awareness, stop young children going in and the same thing happening again."

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