A special ceremony will be held Friday at the Oracle Arena Conference room in Oakland to honor a Marine corps veteran who saved a woman who nearly jumped to her death, following an Oakland Raiders game in November.
Donnie Navidad, 61, of Stockton, who served in Vietnam and the reserves for 15 years, attended the Raiders game against the Tennessee Titans last fall with a coworker. During the game they looked over and saw a woman crouching down, ready to jump.
The woman, a 20-year-old San Jose native, was in a section that is closed off to the public. Navidad told NBC Bay Area, when the woman was falling, from a potential 50-foott drop, he held out his arms, which broke her fall.
MORE: Man Who Saved Woman Jumping Off O.Co Coliseum: I Just Reacted the Way I Did"
The woman was taken to the hospital for life-threatening injuries, but she survived.
Navidad suffered major bruising on his left harm when he used his body to break her fall.
Navidad has received wide recognition in the Bay Area, including from Hall of Fame Raider WIllie Brown, other players and team staffers, who have all showed their gratitude for his selfless act.
But to the humble Marine veteran, who is hailed as a hero, he told NBC Bay Area, he simply "reacted the way he did."
Further commending Navidad, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority chairman and Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley said in a statement, "His quick reaction to save a woman's life at the Coliseum truly touched our community at home, right here in Oakland. In the midst of families and friends leaving the Raiders game, Donnie Navidad made sure that a shocking incident did not become tragedy."
The ceremony will take place at 7000 Coliseum Way in Oakland at 8:30 a.m. on Friday.
Bay City News and NBC Bay Area's Jodi Hernandez contributed to this report.
