KENNEWICK, Wash. -- Ridge View Elementary recognized their own local hero, Mya Osborn, 7, for saving her cousin's life after witnessing him drowning in a swimming pool.
The American Red Cross presented Mya with a certificate last week.
Alex Dieffenbach works for the American Red Cross and presented Mya with the award.
Dieffenbach said Mya noticed her cousin, Kane, was lying at the bottom of a swimming pool and jumped into action to save him.
Mya dove to the bottom of the pool but was unsuccessful in reaching her cousin.
Dieffenbach says Mya dove under the surface a second time and was able to reach her cousin and bring him to the edge of the pool.
Dieffenbach presented Mya with a Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action.
Mya is a big fan of superheroes. After receiving her award she said she felt like a "Swimmer Hero."
Here at the PPCD, we celebrate all survival stories with gratitude for those that survived and for the heroes involved in that outcome.
When looking at each experience with a desire to learn more about preventing tragic drownings, we can identify the layers of protection needed.
This story mostly focuses on rewarding this young girl’s heroic behavior. There’s not a lot of details of how it happened but we do know that a child saved another child.
Ideally, children wouldn’t be responsible for saving other children. We teach children to go get help because often times, both children drown when one attempts to assist the other.
While this story had a very positive outcome, the reality is that implementing layers of protection would have kept both of these children safe, without risking their physical or mental wellbeing. For detailed information on implementing layers of protection for your home, please visit www.parentspreventingchildhooddrowning.com