Woman tries to save drowning boy, winds up saving his pregnant mother, too

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An Indianapolis woman reacted quickly to save a 3-year-old boy in danger of drowning in a pool, only to find that his pregnant mother also needed her help.

Apartment manager Jennifer Potter was riding by the pool in a golf cart on Wednesday, when she saw a small child in the deep end, local TV station WTHR reports.

She jumped in the pool to help.

But when she reached the child she saw more: The boy's pregnant mother was submerged under him. The mother had jumped into the pool earlier to try and save her son, according to WXIN.

More: It's not easy to spot a drowning child. Know the signs.

More: Ask a Doc: What's the difference between dry drowning and secondary drowning?

Potter worked with coworkers to pull the woman and the child from the pool.

"I don't know how I did it," she told WTHR. "I just reacted and would hope anyone else would do the same as I did."

The station reports that first responders who arrived to the scene on the city's south sidecredited her with saving three lives: The boy, his mother and her unborn baby.

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sunnynoodles on June 8th, 2018 at 13:31 UTC »

Makes me think of years ago, when I was like 4 or 5 years old, I almost drowned. I was in the pool holding onto the wall above a section of the pool where I couldn't touch the ground. My grip slipped and I fell in and sunk to the bottom. I remember looking up out of the water and seeing the sun through the water. The image is still startlingly clear in my memory lol I think I was down there for about a minute before this guy jumped in and pulled me out. My parents 10 feet away from the edge had no clue I had fallen in so deep.

So, thanks stranger for saving my life. I don't go swimming anymore.

zebrahippos on June 8th, 2018 at 13:15 UTC »

Arm length rule people!!! Young weak swimmers should never be out of arms reach from you!!!

Drowning is a silent killer and it looks nothing like it does in movies. People don't struggle they just slip under

BlitzFor6 on June 8th, 2018 at 11:39 UTC »

Jennifer Potter was riding by the pool in a golf cart on Wednesday, when she saw a small child in the deep end.

She jumped in the pool to help.

But when she reached the child she saw more: The boy's pregnant mother was submerged under him. The mother had jumped into the pool earlier to try and save her son.

Talk about right place right time. Had she been driving by a minute before or after, this could be a completely different story. This type of “butterfly effect” always amazes me. “Oops I forgot my keys!” Run back in house to get them, then leave rearranges where you are, at what point in the day.