THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 4, 1995 TAG: 9505020088
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REBECCA A. MYERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
It was late in the afternoon of March 29 and the high for the day had barely broken 60. The Elizabeth River was colder by at least 10 degrees.
Not an ideal day for heroism.
But when marine mechanic Angelo L. Davis, a Norfolk resident, saw a bicyclist lose her balance and heard the splash of water off one of the piers at the Tidewater Yacht Agency, he took off his coat and dived in behind her.
Stacey Wrocklage, 18, was struggling to stay afloat against the weight of the knapsack strapped securely to her back.
``I couldn't get it off my back,'' said Wrocklage of the bag that contained a Bible, the beginning of an afghan and the yarn needed to finish it.
``I wish it would have come off and that would have saved me a lot of trouble,'' she said.
Although an accomplished swimmer, Wrocklage, who lives with her mother and stepfather on a boat docked at the marina, was shocked by the cold water and hampered by the knapsack and the weight of her clothes: a bulky sweater, leather coat, jeans and Doc Martens - heavy combat boots popular with teens her age.
``When I finally did get up, I was just screaming, then I went back under, and there was nothing I could do to get back up,'' she said.
``Angelo jumped in the water after me. I must have been pretty far down because he pulled me by my hair and pulled me to the surface.''
The water was estimated to be about 15 feet deep.
``The one thing about Elizabeth River water is you can't see anything once you go under,'' said Wrocklage. ``You can't see 2 inches in front of your face. And it's real scary.''
After pulling Wrocklage to the surface of the water, Davis wedged himself between two pilings so that she could use his body as a ``step'' to climb to safety.
``It was low tide at the time, and the pier was so high that even with others helping, reaching down, they really couldn't get a good grab on her,'' Davis said. ``And I didn't want her to fall and go back in. So I kind of propped myself up to let her stand on me, like a stair step, so she could get up.''
Last week, Davis, 25, was presented a Portsmouth Medal of Honor by the Portsmouth City Council.
``I really don't feel like a hero,'' said Davis, a 1988 graduate of Maury High School. He has worked for Ocean Marine, a marine repair service located at the Tidewater Yacht Agency, for two months.
``I just feel like I helped another person. I would hope that someone would do the same for me.''
Thinking back, Wrocklage expressed concern about the weight that she had to exert on Davis just to get out of the water.
``I know he felt it,'' she said.
Davis acknowledges that the two had a hard time getting out of the water, but doesn't recall her weight being a problem.
``To be truthful, I don't really remember how heavy she was, but I'm sure I tried to coax her to hurry up,'' he said with a chuckle.
``The biggest thing was keeping her calm because that's how most people drown. She said herself she does know how to swim, but if you panic, you'll drown.''
Neither he nor Wrocklage required medical attention.
``When Angelo got out of the water, the first thing he did was - he didn't try to dry himself off or anything - he came over, and the jacket that he had just taken off when he jumped in, he gave it to me,'' said Wrocklage, who works as a florist at Mystic Rose Flowers at Waterside.
``He said he wanted me to be warm. I thought that was the sweetest thing.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Stacey Wrocklage, left, was saved by Norfolk resident Angelo Davis
after she fell off a pier.
KEYWORDS: HERO DROWNING ELIZABETH RIVER RESCUE by CNB