A Detroit family is heartbroken after a graduation celebration turned into a tragedy.
Aamina Bradley, 14, was at a party with her family on Saturday when she noticed her nine-year-old cousin fall into the Detroit River. Bradley jumped in, attempting to rescue her cousin when she was swept by the current. Bradley’s father and bystanders attempted to rescue the teen and the cousin. While the cousin was safely pulled ashore, Aamina could not be rescued.
“Her last words were, ‘Dad help me,'” Glenn Bradley told WXYZ. “She looked at me. When I went out there, she disappeared; she went under and never came back up. Somebody had to save me because I was drowning.”
The teen had dreams of becoming a scientist when she grew up and in one of her final acts, attempted to save the life of someone near and dear.
In a statement, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield shared her condolences with the family, writing, “There are no words adequate to ease the grief her family is carrying today.”
The statement continued, “Their courage in that moment matters, and this city is grateful for it. The DPD Dive Team, Coast Guard, Fire Department, and Harbor Master all responded and worked to bring her home. No family should ever have to endure the loss of a child. The City sends our heartfelt condolences.”
“Aamina, she loved the water,” Bradley said of his daughter. “I’d take her to the pool, she would swim, different things like that, they’d play games.. just in a river, in that type of setting, in that current, it pulls you out … I never lost a kid, three kids, two sons … my daughter was my baby girl. She was my everything.”
