A 7-year-old boy is being praised for his quick thinking after saving the life of a toddler who fell into a swimming pool.
via: BET
A second-grader in Sacramento, California is being called a hero after he rescued a toddler from the bottom of a swimming pool.
Massiah Browne was swimming with relatives at the pool in the apartment complex where he lives with his mom and brother when he spotted the 3-year-old boy.
“I was just playing in the pool and then I saw a boy at the bottom of the pool,” Massiah, a second-grade student, told Good Morning America. “And I went to go get him.”
Massiah said the boy, who was not known to him, was on the bottom of the pool with his eyes and mouth open and that he dove down in the 6 feet of water and pulled him by his arm to the surface.
One of Massiah’s relatives, a 9-year-old girl named Savannah, helped him pull the boy to the pool deck where adults came to help and start lifesaving measures.
A spokesperson for the Sacramento Fire Department said that “the child was transported in critical condition with advanced life support efforts provided by Sacramento firefighters.”
Massiah’s mom, Tiara Delvalle, rushed to the pool after being told of the incident. She has been in touch with the toddler’s mother and says that he is recovering, adding, “It’s a miracle.”
Massiah’s dad, Marcus Browne is a championship boxer who competed in the 2012 Olympic Games, he said that he was shocked when he heard about his son’s heroic deed. “I just couldn’t believe it,” Browne said of his son, who according to ABC News also goes by his superhero nickname, “Siah Fire.” “He’s a good kid.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that male toddlers and teenage boys are at the highest risk of drowning. The CDC notes that drowning is the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 1 and 4, and the second leading cause of death for kids up to age 14.
