GIRARD, Ohio (WKBN) – A toddler was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital after his father found him unresponsive in a decorative pond Thursday, and it was an officer who got the boy breathing again.
Victim in fatal turnpike crash identified as local teen It happened just after 9:00 a.m. in the 300 block of East Wilson Avenue.
Fire chief Jim Petruzzi said that the 1-year-old boy made it outside after a sibling left the door open. The child’s father found the boy face down in a neighbor’s pond. The boy wasn’t breathing when he pulled him out.
Officer J.J. Silverman was just a few blocks from the home when Girard police got the call. He was the first to arrive.
“It’s pretty much one of the most stressful calls you can get,” Silverman said.
Silverman ran to help the child, alternating between back blows, chest compressions and finger sweeps before firefighters took over while emergency crews waited for an ambulance to arrive.
“The child bit down on my finger hard, and that was an amazing feeling — I knew that the kid was OK,” Silverman said “I’ll remember that bite the rest of my life.”
Firefighters say the boy had a lot of water in his lungs. They took over care with more back blows and suctioning.
“That’s when the baby began to breathe, kind of triggering that response to breathe and cough up some of that water. He was never really fully conscious, but he was breathing on his own, crying which is a great, great sign,” said Girard fire Capt. Luke Grunder.
Crews with Lane LifeTRANS ended up taking the child to Akron Children’s main campus.
“We don’t know what any long-term effects he could suffer from this, but for now, seems like we’re in the clear,” Silverman said.
Silverman credits his training and teamwork for how it turned out.
“Whatever officer would have gotten there first would have gotten the job done,” Silverman said. “I just happened to get there first and was able to take some action.”
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Michael Reiner and Brian Oehlbeck contributed to this report.
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