Every Sunday, we will share a story of a non-fatal drowning, discuss where things went wrong, and give some pointers on how to prevent it from happening to the people you love. Thankfully, these stories have happy endings for those involved, but sadly, we lose too many people to drowning every year. We hope examining these real-life stories help put the dangers of water into perspective and help you introduce various principles of water safety to your family!
In early May, something completely unexpected happened. An 18month old little girl was riding in a vehicle, safely strapped into her car seat, when the pick-up truck she was riding in was involved in a 5-car vehicle crash on top of a bridge in Maryland. During the crash, the car seat was ejected and fell 25ft over a bridge into water.
Thankfully, a young man was nearby to help. Seeing the car seat and the little girl floating nearby, he jumped the bridge and went in without hesitation to save her. A nearby boat was able to reach them and pull them out to safety. Jonathan’s description from the day, “When I looked over, I saw the car seat and some other items, and about 6 feet away from the car seat was a little girl. She was on her back, completely floating, head completely out of the water, arms moving, legs kicking, and a little pink dress," is an amazing testament to how floating can save a life. By floating, this 18month old little girl was able to keep head above water and breathe air until help arrived. Floating is such a powerful survival skill when you are in the water!
When picking out swim lessons for your child or if teaching your family yourself, please make sure to start with the float. Floating is a skill that everyone from young babies to adults should have just in case they find themselves un-expectantly in water. Floating can be used when tired, or in fast moving water to survive. Set the goal today to make sure everyone in your family can float!
Children and young babies can learn to float, and should learn to float first as a survival skill. Have fun, be safe, and know floating saves lives!
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