Lifeguards, Bystanders Credited With Pulling Man From Lowell Pool
LOWELL (CBS/AP) - Police in Lowell say swift action by two lifeguards and a pair of bystanders saved a man from drowning at the Greater Lowell YMCA pool.
Police spokesman Capt. Thomas Kennedy says lifeguard Janavi Patel alerted colleagues and dived into the pool after she saw a man motionless at the bottom Sunday morning.
"My heart was racing and I don't even know what I was thinking at that point I was just thinking I have to get him out," Patel told WBZ-TV.
Patel managed to bring the much-larger man to the surface. Fellow lifeguard Nikka Rivera and bystanders Jessica Dodge and Philip Dion helped pull the unidentified victim out of the water, and the two lifeguards performed CPR.
"Your brain is three steps ahead of you while your hands are a step behind," lifeguard Nikka Rivera said.
The victim had no pulse was not breathing when the lifeguards began CPR. He was conscious and alert four minutes later.
He was taken to Lowell General Hospital for treatment and was released a few hours later.
Police credited all four on Tuesday with saving the man's life.
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