Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke and the City Council recently presented a plaque to Ethan Cakmak, a Chandler teen and a student at Hamilton High School, for his quick thinking and lifesaving efforts Feb. 7.
That's the day Cakmak and his father were at their nearby apartment when motorist Todd Buckner had a medical emergency that caused him to drive his SUV into a lake near Dobson and Queen Creek roads.
Cakmak, 16, swam out to the SUV to check on Buckner’s condition, while his father, Erkan, called 911. While Ethan was unable to break a window, he saw Buckner was still conscious and tried to communicate with him.
While Chandler firefighters ended up being the only ones able to break a window and save Buckner from drowning, Ethan was honored by the city for swimming out immediately and attempting to provide aid.
Ethan was also honored by the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board at a February meeting for his fast thinking and effort.
We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Jason W. Brooks can be reached at jbrooks@iniusa.org.
Jason W. Brooks
Associate Editor
Jason W. Brooks is a News editor for the Daily Independent and the Chandler Independent.
He covers the Chandler area for both yourvalley.net and the monthly print edition while writing for and assisting in the production of the Daily Independent.
Brooks is a well-traveled journalist who has documented life in small American communities in nearly all U.S. time zones.
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised there and in suburban Los Angeles, he has covered community news in California, New Mexico, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska and northern Arizona.
By 
