NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. —

A 72-year-old surfer is being hailed as a hero after rushing into action Tuesday to save a father and son from drowning in Florida.

David “Bean” Coffee was surfing in New Smyrna Beach when he heard cries for help. Advertisement

“I just heard somebody yelling, ‘Help! Help,'” Coffee said. “I looked out in the water and saw somebody floating backwards, and I saw somebody else further in.”

The pair, a father and son, had been pulled into a rip current. The son’s surfboard leash had snapped, separating him from his board. Coffee first paddled out to rescue the son, then returned for his father.

“He was underwater. I had to pull him up out of the water and put him on my board,” Coffee said.

It was some of the toughest paddling he’s ever done, Coffee said, despite

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