PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Some quick-thinking bystanders were in the right place at the right time when they helped to rescue a girl from drowning at Portsmouth City Park.
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'I did what needed to be done:' Couple saves child from drowning in Portsmouth
A married couple and two other men jumped in to help during the harrowing rescue.
On Sunday afternoon, Larry McNeil said he was at the park with his wife and three kids when they saw a girl suddenly run into the Elizabeth River. They believe she was about four or five years old.
“I was frantic,” said McNeil.
McNeil said the girl looked like she was struggling in the water.
“It looked like she was playing but she wasn’t,” he said. “It looked like she was trying to get out of the water because her hands were going up in the air and she was going back and forth like this.”
That’s when instincts kicked in.
Wasting no time, McNeil said his wife Frances and he jumped into the waist-deep water. McNeil quickly called 911.
“That’s when she (Frances) said, ‘No. I’m not waiting,’ and she just took off,” said McNeil.
Frances then kicked off her shoes and started running toward the child who was about 200 feet out.
“She was just running on top of seashells and rock and sand dunes,” McNeil said. “My wife, next thing I know, I didn’t see the kid anymore. Then, my wife reached down and went under into the water and pulled up and it was a little girl. That’s when she was limp, wasn’t moving, lifeless.”
That’s when McNeil said another man, Trever Hanes, started giving the girl CPR. They believe she was in the water for approximately three minutes.
“My wife said blow into her mouth,” he said. “Then when he did that, instantly, water started coming out of her mouth. Then, he rolled her over and water stated coming out of her nose.”
By then, first responders arrived at the park and transported the girl and her mother to CHKD hospital by ambulance.
The rescue left Frances’ feet badly cut up. McNeil said she also went to Maryview hospital to remove fragments of seashells lodged inside.
The couple said they’d love to see the little girl again. McNeil said they called the hospital shortly after she was taken there, and staff told them she’s doing okay and recovering.
