BOSTON — A quick thinking lifeguard saved the day after an 8-year-old from Roxbury boy nearly drowned at the Olsen Pool in Hyde Park on Wednesday afternoon.
“I don’t know I just feel horrible for him,” said Janel Sucre, who is a mother.
Sucre arrived at the pool in as the boy was pulled from the water.
“The police came there was CPR done. I don’t know what happened to him. But I just saw him leave on the stretcher,” Sucre said.
Massachusetts State trooper Lt. James Bazzinotti said a lifeguard noticed the boy’s father by the edge of the pool.
“Lifeguards observed a man standing in the side of the pool, a dad looking for his son,” said Lt Bazzinotti.
And that’s when he said a lifeguard saved the day.
“A lifeguard jumped into action she got the child out. The child had some trouble breathing but she did a good thing and gave him some breaths right away,” he said.
The State Police also released a statement that said in part, “The lifeguard performed rescue breathing on the boy who was conscious and then began coughing. Other lifeguards evacuated the pool and called 911.”
And with today’s scorching temperatures, Gabriana Rosario says the pool was packed.
“This is the most crowded I’ve seen it all summer,” said Rosario.
State police said the lifeguard’s quick response made all the difference.
“She did a fantastic job right to her training, she talked to the child communicated well as the child was not breathing well, he was gurgling and couldn’t catch his breath but she did a great job, fantastic,” said Lt Bazzinotti.
State Police said the boy was breathing on his own and taken to Boston Medical Center as a precaution.
He’s expected to be ok.