MACON, Ga. — A Georgia father of five is being called a hero after he died while rescuing children from the current of a river last week.

Scotty Carter, 33, had five children of his own between the ages of 8 and 15 and had a girlfriend with four more children.

On June 21, his family said in an online fundraiser that he dropped his girlfriend off at work and went home to pick up six of the children to take them to the Ocmulgee River in Macon.

They say Carter started to fish and the children got into the water for a swim. When he realized the current was pulling three of the girls down the river, he shouted for them to come back.

When he realized they couldn’t get themselves back, he swam out to rescue them.

While rescuing them, he began to struggle, and the girls, now floating on their backs, tried holding onto his necklace to keep him afloat, but it snapped and he sank beneath the water.

A bystander was able to pull the girls back to safety. Crews found Carter’s body around 1:30 p.m.

Later that same day, a 19-year-old man also drowned in the Ocmulgee River.