A 7-year-old boy is called a “hero” after diving into a swimming pool to rescue a toddler.
Massiah Browne, of Sacramento, California, was swimming in the pool at his apartment complex when he saw a 3-year-old boy — a stranger — lying on the bottom.
Massiah dived six feet into the water to save the toddler.
“I was just playing in the pool and then I saw a boy at the bottom of the pool,” said the second-grader. Good morning America. “And I went to get him.”
Massiah was in the pool with his 9-year-old relative Savannah, who pulled the boy onto dry land and alerted nearby adults.
“Savannah took him to his mother and they resuscitated the boy and then they called the doctor,” Massiah said.
Marcus Browne, Massiah’s father, said his son swims like “a fish,” but he was still amazed when he learned of his exploits.
“He’s a good boy,” he told GMA.
Firefighters later confirmed that paramedics arrived to perform CPR and transport the toddler to hospital, ABC news reported.
Massiah’s mother, Tiara Delvalle, said she was in contact with the toddler’s family and the toddler survived the ordeal. Delvalle called it a “miracle.”
Drowning is a leading cause of death for children in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
More children aged one to four years die from drowning than any other cause except birth defects. Most of these drownings take place in swimming pools.
It is also the second most common cause of injury in children ages one to 14. Only car accidents affect more children every year.
The CDC recommends that children take formal swimming lessons to help combat the risk of drowning.
They also recommend fencing off pools completely so that children cannot swim without adult supervision. A four-sided isolation fence around a swimming pool reduces the risk of drowning in children by 83%.
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