Friday, Jul. 10, 2009

'I really didn't think he was coming back': Boy, 2, rescued at Belleville Pool

BELLEVILLE -- A 2-year-old boy found unconscious in the water Thursday afternoon at the Belleville Swimming Pool was pulled to safety by a patron and revived by a lifeguard.

"I really didn't think he was coming back," said Heidi Johnson, 39, of Belleville, a former EMT who rescued the boy. "There was no pulse. He was lifeless in my arms. He couldn't even hold his arms up."

The boy, Ricquaan Brown, was taken to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Belleville and then transferred to Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis for observation.

"He's fine, by the grace of God he's fine," said Shantel Miller, who has operated Pooh Bears, an East St. Louis day care, for 13 years.

Miller said she and her 15-year-old stepdaughter were watching Ricquaan, along with three teenagers and two younger children, at the pool at 1100 Hecker St. Miller said she has watched Ricquaan since he was about 18 months old. He will be 3 on July 30.

"He's like my baby," Miller said. "I just hate that it happened. I didn't see him and I was in the vicinity. I just feel like I was responsible. He was in my care."

Miller said she and her stepdaughter were watching the children in the pool's shallow end, which is sectioned off from the rest of the pool. Miller said she got up to chase and play with the teenagers and could not see Ricquaan when she returned. Miller said she and others in her group searched for Ricquaan for about three minutes before he was found face down in the pool.

"He could have followed me into the deeper water," Miller said. "By the time I went back, I said, 'Where's Ricquaan?' We went to the bathroom to look for him and sent the bigger kids to look for him. I even went over to where he was eventually found to look for him and I overlooked him. Then I went further up the steps to look for him. Then I heard the whistle blowing and I just knew that it was Ricquaan, that there was something wrong."

Johnson was in the pool about 10 feet away and closest to the boy when she and a lifeguard noticed that he was face down in the water.

"We probably noticed him around the same time," Johnson said. "He couldn't have been there that long. There were no sounds of panic. I turned around, I saw him and I took off for him."

Johnson scooped the toddler's head out and put him on the pool deck. Lifeguard Emily Beintker, 21, of Belleville, performed CPR, while Johnson checked for a pulse.

"(Beintker) didn't stop until he started coughing up water," Johnson said. "The lifeguard should be commended for how she handled the situation."

Johnson said CPR lasted for three cycles, or about two minutes. Johnson's friend, Patty Vasques, of Belleville, said it took about five minutes to revive the boy.

"Water was just pouring and pouring out of him," Vasques said. "When the ambulance came, he started coughing and crying, and I know that was a good sign."

The Belleville Police Department received calls for help about 3:39 p.m. The boy was wriggling in a paramedic's arms and responsive as he was carried to an ambulance about 3:45 p.m.

Witnesses said the boy was in the 3-feet, 6-inch portion of the pool under an unmanned lifeguard stand.

Pool manager Rich Wilson said that four lifeguards were on duty at the time. Beintker was in a lifeguard stand across the width of the pool from the boy.

"From what I've been told, she performed above and beyond and exceeded her training," Wilson said. "You can't ask somebody under that much pressure to do what she did."

Tiffany Astle, of Belleville, was at the pool with her two children when she saw the lifeguard help pull the boy out of the water.

"She was so quick, I didn't even see her jump in the water," Astle said. "I totally feel safe swimming there now. She was totally professional. I was very impressed with her response. She just did what she needed to."