12-Year-Old Boy Meets One Of His Rescuers After Falling Through Ice
LANSDOWNE, Md. (WJZ) -- A story of two young men--one in danger after falling through the ice and another who risks it all to save a stranger. A Baltimore County teenager is one of three brave men who raced to the rescue.
WJZ brings that teen together with the boy whose life was saved.
Vic Carter was there for their emotional reunion.
911 Caller: "Kids were playing on the ice on the lake and they fell through."
A wintry afternoon in Landsdowne turns deadly when four friends try to skate on a frozen pond.
911 Caller: "They're underwater and they can't come up."
Thin ice can't handle their weight. It gives way, plunging them into frigid water. A teenager who's watching in horror races to the rescue.
911 Caller: "We got one out. One of them is out now."
He's the reason this young man is alive today. WJZ is there when they meet for the first time.
Kyle Keith, 17, is a hero to 12-year-old Omar Benjamin's family. Omar's mother can't thank him enough for saving her son.
"I just want to tell you thank you," said Lincola Benjamin, Omar's mother.
Vic: "You have to be very happy about Kyle."
Lincola: "He is really a hero. Because if it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't have my son right now."
On that fateful day, Kyle was in the right place at the right time. He saw the boys fall into the pond and didn't think twice.
"I don't like seeing stuff like that. It scared me when they fell in because I didn't know what was going to happen next. I didn't know if they could swim or not," said Kyle Keith.
Vic: "Describe for me how you were able to reach Omar."
Kyle: "We were just feeling around, and I felt him, so I pulled him out. We tried to look for the other boy, but we couldn't find him."
One of Omar's best friends, 13-year-old Kyron Aikens, doesn't make it. He's under water for more than an hour before crews find him.
"I really miss Kyron. He was like a brother to me," Omar said.
Omar spends three weeks in the hospital, fighting for his life.
Omar: "It was scary because I didn't know where I was at..."
Vic: "When you woke up in the hospital, what was going through your head?"
Omar: "I didn't know what was going on. I woke up and just saw everyone around me crying."
Lincola: "When I first saw him--you can never imagine that that would be your child."
Now, Omar is on the road to recovery at home with his family.
Vic: "He's home now. He's doing good."
Lincola: "He's a fighter. He's a fighter."
As for Omar and Kyle, they'll always have a special bond.
"We are so thankful to Kyle Keith for pulling him out. We know that without him, we would not have Omar with us," said Cindy Willis, Omar's aunt.
As we mentioned, Kyle Keith was not alone. Omar had three guardian angels that day. One of them performed CPR until paramedics arrived.
