Alabama swimmer killed in storms credited with saving girlfriend’s life
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}John Servati, 21, swimmer at University of Alabama, died late Monday during the severe storm system that pounded the state. (Alabama athletics)
The University of Alabama confirmed Thursday that a 21-year-old member of its swim team, John Servati of Tupelo, Miss., was killed Monday night when storms swept through the city.
Tuscaloosa city spokeswoman Deidre Stalnaker said Servati, a dean's list student, was taking shelter in the basement of a house off campus when a retaining wall collapsed.
Anna Rae Gwarjanksi, a senior swimmer at the school, tweeted that Servati died a hero and held up a "concrete wall long enough for his girlfriend to get out from under it before it collapsed again on him."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Phillip Deaton, the captain of the school's swim team, told The Tuscaloosa News that "John was a hero every day, just constantly doing great things, so the fact that he did that doesn't surprise me at all."
He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Stalnaker said the accident happened at a home on 22nd Avenue about 10:30 p.m. when the city was under a tornado warning.
Servati competed in three events at the Southeastern Conference championships last year. He was a dean’s list student and was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alabama Emergency Management Agency spokesman Brian Corbett says the student is one of three weather-related deaths in Alabama. The others were in Limestone County.
The Associated Press contributed to this report