A Good Samaritan helped save a five-year-old boy who almost drowned in a Brooklyn pool.
Anthony Torres, a former lifeguard, sprang into action on Sunday, pulling the boy from the water. Pool lifeguards then provided CPR.
The incident took place at the McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg at around 7pm, according to police.
The pool was crowded in the summer heat.
“I screamed ‘Help!’ and then I submerged myself into the water to pick him up. He was face down in the water, in like a fetal position”, Mr Torres told CBS News.
Mr Torres was visiting the pool with his family after finishing work when he saw the boy at the bottom of the pool.
“When I picked him up out of the water, I kept screaming ‘Help!’ and not one lifeguard would come to his aid or help me at all”, he said.
The child was taken to Woodhull Hospital, according to police, and he’s expected to be okay.
“He was just breathing and his eyes were just open. But he couldn’t talk and I was trying to give him a pound and he wouldn’t get up”, Mr Torres said.
Witness Maria Lozano shared her frustration with CBS that help wasn’t at the ready sooner.
“The lifeguards were still up in the chairs, like, they didn’t even bother to get down”, she said. “It was scary. I was with my kids here. Everyone was just worried and concerned because the child wasn’t breathing. He was unconscious. The CPR wasn’t working. It was scary, everyone was screaming.”
Law enforcement is investigating the incident.
The Parks Department told CBS in a statement that “our thoughts are with the child and their family, and we wish them a full recovery. Two NYC Parks lifeguards ran to aid the child and administered CPR responsive to a patron’s cries for help after they removed the child from the water”.
The department closed the pool for the rest of the evening, according to ABC7.
