Quick-Thinking Young Friends Save Boy From Icy Pond
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (CBS) -- Two young friends jumped into action when a child chasing a football fell through the ice on a frozen pond.
The child suffered hypothermia but he's grateful to be alive, CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports.
Trevon Johnson was playing catch with friends at his apartment complex in unincorporated Arlington Heights on Sunday. His football landed on an ice-covered pond, where a "No Trespassing" sign is posted.
The 10-year-old stepped on the ice to get the football and fell right through it.
"I almost drowned. I couldn't move because of the ice," he said. "I was screaming out of my mind."
While one of Trevon's friend's called 9-1-1, friends Sharissa Catlin and Joseph Flores sprang into action. Catlin broke the ice with a stick, and Flores went in to the water.
"'I was like, 'Trevon, grab my hand,' and he grabbed my hand and I carried him out the water,'" Joseph says. "I saved him because if that was me, I'd want help, too. It's a blessing for both of us."
Trevon's mother, Tywana Johnson, is grateful.
"He just pulled his shoes off and just jumped in the water to get him and pulled him to the side and had someone call 9-1-1. I'm very thankful for the guy that did that for him," she says.
Arlington Heights Fire Department Lt. Andrew Larson says Trevon got an early Christmas gift.
"He's very lucky," he said.
Larson says it's never encouraged to have multiple people go into the water to attempt a rescue. The result could be even more victims and a rescue delay.
Meantime, Trevon's mother says he will be getting swimming lessons.
