Tragedy Strikes as Man Drowns Moments After Baptism in Texas Lake

A man has fatally drowned after trying to save a teenage girl he saw struggling to swim in a Texas lake, moments after his baptism ceremony.

On Saturday, August 24, first responder crews were called out to the Boat Dock Park of Lake Waxahachie around 12:45 pm on a report of a drowning.

Officers with the Waxahachie Police Department discovered that a 21-year-old male had witnessed a teenage girl struggling to stay afloat in the water and attempted to rescue her. While the girl was removed from the water by a boater and given CPR successfully, the Good Samaritan was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

The victim was identified as Lincer Lopez by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner. According to WFAA, Lincer had been baptized only moments before the fatal drowning.

The teenage girl and Lincer were part of the same church group and the man had rushed to her aid immediately upon seeing her distress.

Lincer's uncle, Jacobo Lopez, told WFAA that his nephew had been "so looking forward to his baptism that he couldn't sleep the night before".

Lincer Lopez, according to his uncle, worked construction to send money back to his family in Mexico.  A GoFundMe has been started to help the family with funds, you can access it here.

In a heart wrenching coincidence, the boater who rescued the drowning teenage girl has his own tragic history with drownings. Jacob Bell

According to coverage by CBSnews:

"I had a little brother die when I was 12, of drowning, my little brother Chase Ryan Bell," said Bell. "He passed away when I was 12 so it's always been a part of our family, water safety and looking out for people."