'You're Not Going to Die Tonight'
Homeless Man Helps Save Houseboat Resident From Drowning

By Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 24, 2007

It was unlucky that William "Al" Slaughter was wearing his slick, new dress shoes as he walked on an icy dock next to his houseboat on D.C.'s Southwest waterfront Monday night.

In an instant, he skidded deep into the 38-degree water and could not hoist himself out of the Washington Channel, he said. It was 10:30, and not a soul was around to hear him cry "Help!"

After about 10 minutes, Slaughter, 53, who is a crewman on a yacht that cruises the Potomac River, started to lose muscle control in the frigid water, he said. Just then, he could not believe his eyes: Three men were ambling along the street by the Washington Marina, separated from him by a seven-foot-high iron fence.

He yelped for them, and one, aided by the others, climbed over the fence and ran over to Slaughter, who was struggling to keep his head above water.

Floyd Lipscomb, who police said is homeless, tried to pull Slaughter out of the channel. But he did not have the strength to pull Slaughter and his heavy wool coat out of the water, Slaughter said last night from his room at George Washington University Hospital.

So Lipscomb held on tight to Slaughter's arm and told him: " 'You're not going to die tonight. I'm going to hold on to you. I got you,' " Slaughter said.

The two other men, also homeless, identified by police as Duke "Showtime" Kelley and DeLeon Butler, alerted officers that a man had fallen into the water in the 1100 block of Maine Avenue. Slaughter feared he might drown right next to where he lived, on a houseboat christened Finished Business.

Slaughter said he thinks he lost consciousness a few times while Lipscomb waited for help. But Lipscomb never let him go under, he said.

"Had he not been there, I would have quietly slipped to the bottom," said Slaughter, who works for his brother's cruise business, Capital Yacht Charters.

D.C. police harbor patrol officer Hilliard Dean said he arrived at the scene about two minutes after receiving the call for help. Kelley and Butler hoisted Dean over the fence so he could also aid Slaughter, Dean said.

Dean and Lipscomb each grabbed one of Slaughter's arms and tugged him out of the water. Hypothermia had already set in, Dean said.

"[Lipscomb] is jumping up and down hollering and saying, 'I saved somebody's life!' " Dean said. "He was excited he did something great."

A homeless man gave Slaughter his blanket, wrapping him in it, Dean said.

While Dean focused on helping Slaughter into an ambulance, Lipscomb and the others walked away.

Police were looking for the men yesterday so they could thank them. Dean said the three told officers that they had been staying in a nearby shelter, but Dean said they were not there yesterday.

"[Lipscomb] is the person who actually did the greatest deed. Everybody else was just helping out," Dean said. "We don't know where he is. Maybe he went to a different shelter."

Lt. Paul Niepling, harbor master for D.C. police, said he wants to give Lipscomb an award, "if we can find him."

Slaughter said last night that he was feeling much better and was hoping to be released from the hospital soon. Doctors were monitoring him to make sure the hypothermia had not caused kidney damage, he said.

"I don't think I've ever shook so much in my life," said Slaughter, who grew up around water and was a bass fisherman in Charleston, S.C. For the past two years, he has been living in Washington and helping his brother, Eric, with his yacht company.

William Slaughter said it was the first time he had ever been in danger of drowning.

"It was a bad set of circumstances with the ice, cold water and the heavy coat," he said.

Eric Slaughter said that his brother had mentioned to him that his new shoes were slippery, but he had no idea they could endanger his life.

The brothers said they were still in shock, absorbing Monday night's events.

"It was a miracle that those guys would come over the fence to help," William Slaughter said. "It was a miracle that they were even there."

Staff writers Keith L. Alexander and Allan Lengel contributed to this report.