A hero dad sacrificed himself to save his teenage sons when they were ripped out to sea by a violent riptide off Martha’s Vineyard. GoFundMeAll four were helped to safety, but the hero dad was unconscious when he was brought back to land. 3 Kevin Foster, who died trying to save his sons, smiling with his son and his wife. Several people were pulled from the water on the day the dad died, the Vineyard Gazette reported. Witnesses were left horrified when paramedics tried to revive the unconscious dad.