Girlfriend of Alabama swimmer says boyfriend was killed saving her life in tornado

photo James Barber, assistant Alabama swimming coach, speaks with the media as the swimming team remembered John Servati on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The girlfriend of a student killed by a tornado in Tuscaloosa said her boyfriend died while saving her life.

University of Alabama swimmer John Servati took shelter with his girlfriend in the basement of a Tuscaloosa home during an outbreak of severe weather on Monday. A retaining wall collapsed on them.

WBRC-TV reports that Servati held up the wall long enough for his girlfriend to escape. He was crushed under it.

His girlfriend, Lauren Swann, said that Servati saved her life. The couple had been dating for about two months.

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