HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — On her first day on the job, a 15-year-old lifeguard helped revive a young boy who was found at the bottom of a community swimming pool.
More than a dozen parents and children were hanging out at the Tanners Creek community pool in Huntersville Saturday afternoon. Around 4 p.m., several swimmers noticed Tyqual Seaburn, 7, lying face down at the bottom of the pool.
Witnesses said his face was purple and he was not breathing.
"He had white foam all over his face. And it was just scary," said 7th grader Megan Seitz. "He was not breathing at all."
Witnesses saw Seaburn take a bite of some food right before jumping in at the five-foot-deep mark, and he never came back up.
Mason Gainey, 19, is a trained lifeguard, and he happened to be at the pool hanging out with friends. He ran over to help, and began doing mouth-to-mouth.
"It's just a great feeling. Somebody is unconscious about to die, and you give them life," Gainey said.
Whitney Timberlake was the lifeguard on duty at the pool. It was the 15-year-old's very first day on the job. Swimmers said she took charge, stayed calm and kept doing chest compressions until Seaburn spit up water.
"I feel like I could trust coming to this pool more. I feel like we're here with a lot of heroes watching over," said swimmer Jeffrey Orozcvo.
Paramedics said Seaburn was conscious and crying when he was rushed to the hospital.
Not only is Whitney Timberlake a hero to many people at the pool, she's also a champion swimmer and diver. She won regionals last winter for Hough High School in Cornelius.
The head of the Tanners Creek Housing said Seaburn does not live in the community, but he did have a key and he was at the pool with his grandmother.
At last check with hospital officials, Seaburn was out of intensive care and could be released from the hospital soon.
WSOC
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