Hadi Ahmadi was so fond of his son that he named his mechanical engineering business, Artin Hadi LLC, after the boy.
“He loved him so much,” Ahmadi’s wife, Mojgan Manafi, 48, said Monday, Dec. 8.
The 55-year-old father was credited with saving his 7-year-old boy’s life after their kayak capsized and the two spilled into the water on Saturday at the Lake Perris State Recreation Area. But Ahmadi lapsed into unconsciousness, and even though Artin kept his father afloat, Ahmadi died at Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley after being pulled from the water.
Doctors believe he had a heart attack, Manafi said.
“He was a very good swimmer,” she said.
What’s more, Manafi added, her husband exercised frequently. He worked out at a gym three times each week.
More than a dozen family members and friends went to the lake on Saturday for a day of fun.
For Artin, it was his first time in a kayak, his mother said.
California State Parks peace officers were called to the Moreno Beach area around 4:15 p.m., after the accident. They found Ahmadi unconscious and partially submerged, a State Parks news release said. Artin “was in distress, but conscious and holding his father, helping to keep himself above water,” the release said. “Investigators noted that the father heroically kept his son afloat throughout the ordeal, supporting him until rescue personnel arrived.”
Officers performed CPR on Ahmadi before he was taken to the hospital. Doctors also evaluated Artin, who his mother said was also a good swimmer.
Neither father nor son was wearing a lifejacket, though one was in the kayak, the release said, noting that state law requires boaters 12 and younger to wear one.
Ahmadi was born in Iran. His father died when he was 9, Manafi said, and he had to take care of his family.
“He suffered a lot. His worry was that it (would) happen to his son,” she said.
The couple met when she came to the United States from South Africa and a friend introduced them. Manafi is Iranian as well. They had been married for 10 years. She described her husband as thoughtful and kind and hoped he would be remembered for his humanity.
“He was a very loving person,” she said. “If he didn’t have anything, he was still willing to help people. He was such a great dad. He was such a great husband. He was such a great brother.”